Sen. Nicole Mitchell convicted on both counts in burglary trial

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. - Following three days of emotional testimony, jurors found state Sen. Nicole Mitchell guilty of first-degree burglary and felony possession of burglary tools in connection to the break-in of her stepmother’s home last spring.

A group of 12 jurors went into deliberations Friday afternoon and reached a verdict within three hours. Chief Judge Michael Fritz read the guilty verdicts in court and there were no outbursts. Mitchell didn’t cry or outwardly show emotion, she just sat with her hands in the lap of a purple skirt and glanced over at the jury.

Prosecutors wanted her handcuffed and put in jail while awaiting sentencing, but defense argued she was a public figure with no flight risk or threat to public safety. Fritz agreed and Mitchell slipped out a back door of the courtroom to avoid the press.

Her stepmother, Carol Mitchell, hugged Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald, who told her that he hoped she could “sleep OK tonight.” The 75-year-old woman declined to comment, but her son Jonathan Kuehl said “it’s a wonderful day.”

Nicole Mitchell broke into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home around 4:45 a.m. April 22, 2024, at the time telling police she was there to retrieve mementos of her late father’s, such as a flannel shirt and photos. But on the witness stand, Nicole Mitchell said she was there to check on Carol Mitchell, who has Alzheimer’s diesease, and had no intention of stealing anything. She claimed her statements to the police were lies.

Defense attorney Dane DeKrey said they plan to appeal the decision from the jury. Police body cam video and Nicole Mitchell’s initial statements to police were the biggest hurdles in this case, he said. Asked if it was a risk to put his client on the witness stand, DeKrey said with that kind of video evidence, “you don’t have any chance to win a case unless you put your client on the stand.”

“Very few people get up in their defense and testify for that many hours, subject themselves to cross-examination, are willing to have their lives looked at, peered into that way.

“I’m proud of her. She will be fine. She’s a strong human being no matter this verdict,” DeKrey said.

A sentencing date has not been set. There is a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail, DeKrey said, but “it will be up to Judge Fritz to ultimately decide…There are arguments for mercy.”

McDonald, who filed the charges last April, urged jurors not to believe “the many lies of Nicole Mitchell,” while 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 welfare, Carol Mitchell would think she was putting her in a nursing home.

Defense attorney Bruce Ringstrom Jr., in his nearly hour-long closing argument Friday, 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 said she never placed a welfare call. Instead she 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 the breaking point of the break-in.

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 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, Wisc. 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 wellbeing. She was concerned about how she would take care of herself, and she was missing certain things,” Brody said.

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 asked Markey about her interview with 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.”