MN Motel Killer Was High On Meth, Battling 'Monsters': Police

CLOQUET, MN — The 32-year-old Ramsey man who shot and killed two people at a Cloquet hotel in January before turning the gun on himself was high on meth, didn't know the victims, and was battling "monsters," according to police.

The shooter was previously identified as Nicholas Elliot Lenius, 32. On Jan. 9, Lenius shot and killed Shellby Marie Trettel, 22, and Patrick Jeffrey Roers, 35 before fatally shooting himself.

"After examining four of the suspect's electronic devices, we did not uncover any evidence or information indicating that the suspect had any prior knowledge of or communication with either of the victims involved in the incident," Chief Derek Randall wrote in his "final update" on the killings, posted Monday.

"The suspect may have been experiencing a mental health episode, potentially compounded by the influence of drugs." During the investigation, officers learned that Lenius contacted a coworker and referenced dealing with "monsters."

The Cloquet Police Department will send its investigative reports to the Carlton County Attorney's Office for review.

"Our staff has been in contact with the victim's families throughout this incident, and we send our heartfelt condolences to them and everyone affected by the tragedy," Randall concluded.

On Monday, Jan. 9 at about 6:30 p.m., an employee of the Super 8 hotel in Cloquet called 911 to report that another hotel worker had been attacked. Police responded and found Trettel with a gunshot wound. She was transported to St. Luke's Hospital, where she died.

Police at the scene next found Roers' body with a gunshot wound in a car in the hotel parking lot.

After issuing a shelter-in-place alert to the community, officers found Lenius dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a firearm next to him. Police used surveillance video to determine that he was the shooter.