DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — Following three days of emotional testimony, a group of 12 jurors found Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell guilty of first-degree burglary and felony possession of burglary tools.

The jurors went into deliberations shortly after 12:30 p.m. Friday and reached a verdict roughly three hours later.

Mitchell, the first-term DFL senator, looked over at the jury as Judge Michael Fritz read the guilty verdicts back to back. She didn’t cry or show emotion and sat with her hands in her lap. Fritz instructed the courtroom to not react to the reading of the verdicts.

She broke into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home last spring, at the time telling police she was there to retrieve mementos of her late father’s, such as a flannel shirt and photos. But in testimony in court, Mitchell said she was only there to check on her stepmother, Carol Mitchell, and had no intention of stealing anything. On the witness stand she claimed her statements to the police were lies.

Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald urged jurors to not believe “the many lies of Nicole Mitchell,” while her defense attorneys tasked them with finding any reasonable doubt that the break-in was done to commit theft. Nicole Mitchell said she lied about why she was in Carol Mitchell’s house because if she told the truth, that she was there out of concern for her stepmother’s Alzheimer’s disease, Carol Mitchell would think she was putting her in a nursing home.

“Unless the state can rule out that Nicole Mitchell entered just to check on Carol, then the verdict must be not guilty,” said defense attorney Bruce Ringstrom Jr. in his nearly hour-long closing argument Friday.

Ringstrom said that his client is a veteran, legislator, mom, lawyer and daughter who wouldn’t throw away her entire life “for things she knew she was going to get anyway.” He said Nicole Mitchell visited her stepmother five times after her father died and could’ve taken any mementoes on those visits. She was promised the shirt and photos that were in the basement. Ringstrom said she could’ve taken them and left, but instead she went upstairs to check on Carol Mitchell.

McDonald, the prosecutor who filed charges against Nicole Mitchell, said Nicole Mitchell never placed a welfare call but instead drove 220 miles in the middle of the night, dressed in all black and packed flashlights, latex gloves and a small pry crowbar device used to break into the basement window.

“Who packs a freaking prybar just in case?” McDonald said to the jury.

Mitchell, 50, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her attorney said she didn’t have permission to be in the home that morning and would have pleaded guilty to trespassing.

Carol Mitchell took the witness stand Tuesday and said she felt “extremely violated” by the break-in. She struggled to answer questions by prosecutors and defense attorneys, forgetting key dates and family members’ names.

Defense attorneys said Nicole Mitchell’s concern over her stepmother’s paranoia and forgetfulness related to Alzheimer’s drove her to travel from her home in Woodbury to Detroit Lakes in the middle of the night.

Nicole Mitchell admitted to accessing her stepmother’s medical records online without consent days before the break in. McDonald said that she “hacked” Carol Mitchell’s private medical information.

The relationship between the two reached a breaking point a month before the incident, after Nicole Mitchell said her dad’s ashes were buried without her there to say goodbye.

Nicole Mitchell, who took the stand for more than five hours on Thursday, admitted lying to the police the night of the arrest, telling them at the time she wanted to get a few of her father’s things.

She maintained her position that she was checking in on her stepmother, who was suffering from paranoia and would have reacted poorly if she knew she was doing a welfare check. Carol Mitchell thought she was trying to put her in a nursing home, Nicole Mitchell said.

Nicole Mitchell acknowledged that she did not have permission to be in the home and said she regretted what she had done, but she was worried for her stepmother.

“I created this entire situation, so the only person I have to blame here is myself,” Nicole Mitchell acknowledged.

Defense attorneys briefly questioned two witnesses Friday morning and rested their case. Both sides delivered closing arguments before the court proceedings broke for jury deliberation.

The final witness called by the defense was Sgt. Jay Brody, of Mauston, Wis. Nicole Mitchell was Brody’s commander, and they had known each other for six years. He testified that they frequently spoke about Carol Mitchell’s declining health.

“She expressed concern that Carol was displaying evidence of missing things, and she was worried about her well-being. She was concerned about how she would take care of herself, and she was missing certain things,” Brody said.

He said that Nicole Mitchell is trustworthy and selfless and that she was very upset about not being able to attend her father’s interment.

A theme emerged toward the end of the trial about inheritance. The defense attempted to portray to the jury that Carol Mitchell was a greedy stepmother awarded her husband’s estate, which included inheritance from his late sister that was intended for Nicole Mitchell.

Cindy Markey, one of Nicole Mitchell’s aunts and the sister of the late Roderick Mitchell, testified Friday that her late sister’s large estate ended up with Carol Mitchell because she was legally the heir after her husband’s sudden passing. Markey said her sister died unexpectedly without a will, like her brother.

McDonald, the prosecutor, asked Markey about her interview with defense investigators, during which Markey said the relationship between Carol and Nicole Mitchell “has never been good since day one,” and that they were “two very strong-willed women who butted heads on everything.”

Asked how her late brother would feel about the break-in, Markey said “he would not be happy.”

“But he would not be happy if we all gave up on Carol and did not check on her,” she said.

McDonald said Nicole Mitchell was “caught right away” and didn’t have time to steal anything, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t intend on taking anything.

“Handcuffed and facing reality of her actions, the defendant made the following statement: ‘I’m just hoping this mistake wont completely (expletive) up my life…My god… my military retirement,’” McDonald said, adding that she only cared about herself, not Carol Mitchell.

He said Carol Mitchell is a painful reminder that Alzheimer’s “moves a lot faster than our justice system.” But he told jurors their verdict can be swift.

“I ask for justice for Carol Mitchell,” he said. “Find her guilty.”

_____

©2025 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC