‘Tree Was Part Of Us,’ Dad Says After Memorial To Son Chopped Down

FARIBAULT, MN — A tree that had been planted on grounds overlooking the Faribault High School soccer complex to memorialize a student who committed suicide in 2009 was chopped down in a vandalism spree that claimed at least four other trees, according to charges filed Friday against three Rice County teens.

A city employee discovered the felled trees on May 4. The one memorializing Nicholas “Ginger” Paulson, 16, had a plaque and one of the teenagers wanted to leave it behind, telling his friends “that the tree with the plaque meant something,” according to charging documents.

The cost to replace the five trees between $3,000-$5,000, according to Faribault city officials. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Minneapolis Patch, or click here to find your local Minnesota Patch. Also, if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Those charged with felony first-degree property damage are Isaac J. Chavie, 19, and Cody K. Schuette, 18, both of Morristown, and Christian J. Morales, 18, of Faribault. The three teens, all of whom attended the high school, are due back in court July 13.

They were charged after a review of surveillance video that showed a pickup truck belonging to Schuette’s family in the high school parking lot around 12:20 a.m. May 4. About 20 minutes later, it was seen in the soccer complex parking lot. A subsequent search turned up a folding camp saw that had fresh tree shavings, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Don Paulson, Nicholas Paulson’s father, told KARE-TV the vandalism caught him “completely off guard.”

Faribault Police Chief Andy Bohlen told KARE that his officers were personally motivated to solve the crime after learning the memorial tree had been chopped down.

“Our detectives kind of took it personal because of the tree was a memorial tree, so they were willing to go the extra mile to try and figure out who did this,” he said.

He doesn’t believe the family was targeted, but called it a “senseless act.”

“I hope they realize we can’t replace that tree,” Don Paulson told the TV station. “That tree was part of us. It’s gone. And that’s the part that really hurts. That’s gone.”

Photo via Shutterstock