Amber Alert incident: Brainerd man charged with murder, kidnapping
A Brainerd man is facing a dozen felony charges, including murder, sexual assault, arson and kidnapping, in connection with a horrifying incident that triggered a statewide Amber Alert early Friday.
Criminal charges filed in Crow Wing County on Monday accuse 35-year-old Chad Aanerud of murdering his neighbor, 62-year-old Lyle Maske, before kidnapping a pregnant woman and her four children at gunpoint.
Aanerud was taken into custody and 33-year-old Nikkole Dobson and her children, ages 3-14, were rescued hours later near Little Falls, court documents show.
According to the criminal complaint, Aanerud began arguing with Dobson on the porch of the home where she and her children resided Thursday evening.
Charges allege Aanerud threatened Dobson with a handgun and said he'd shoot her and her children if she didn't have sex with him. Inside the home, Dobson woke her four children and told them to run to Maske's house for help.
According to the complaint, Dobson observed Aanerud dumping buckets full of gasoline or diesel on the home on the property and removing firearms from the residence.
After the children arrived at Maske's home, Maske went over to the neighboring residence to help. He encountered Aanerud on the driveway and was shot and killed, charges allege.
According to the criminal complaint, deputies were called to the property near County Road 25 and Loerch Road in Brainerd around 1:50 a.m. Friday on a report that Aanerud had shot and killed Maske.
Responders arrived and found a home engulfed in flames and Maske laying dead on a driveway, with rifle casings near his body.
After killing Maske, Aanerud allegedly forced Dobson and her four children into a van at gunpoint. While speeding away, he allegedly threw the oldest child's cellphone out of the van.
The van being driven by Aanerud was located around 7:20 a.m. Friday, following the issuance of a statewide Amber Alert.
Aanerud is charged with two counts of 2nd-degree murder, five counts of kidnapping, one count of 1st-degree arson, two counts of 2nd-degree assault, one count of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of theft.
