Son Killed Eden Prairie Parents With Screwdrivers: Charges

Nathan Lehman was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday. Lehman, 38, of Eden Prairie has a history of mental health and methamphetamine addiction problems, authorities say. He is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday in the deaths of Robert and Debra Lehman in their Eden Prairie home.

According to the criminal complaint, Eden Prairie police were sent to the Lehman home about 7 a.m. Thursday when Robert Lehman did not show up for work. Police found the parents in the upstairs bathroom, dead from apparent stab wounds and other injuries, according to a news release.

About five hours earlier, a neighbor heard a loud muffler and saw Nathan Lehman park his vehicle in his parents’ driveway and walk into their home. After no more than 30 minutes, the neighbor saw Lehman drive away without turning on his headlights, the complaint states.

Original story: Eden Prairie Homicide Investigation: Man Taken Into Custody

Thomas Lehman was arrested later Thursday in Buffalo and police found bloody clothes in the trunk of his car, blood in the car’s interior and a hatchet with traces of blood on it. They also found methamphetamine, according to the complaint.

Lehman told police he went into the house, found his mother in the bathroom and began stabbing her with a screwdriver, the complaint states. She screamed and his father came to the bathroom and Nathan stabbed him, the complaint states, according to authorities. He tossed two screwdrivers out of his car somewhere after he left the house.

Nathan Lehman had moved back into his parents’ house, but had not been following the orders of his mental health caseworkers and finally left the house in late April or early May, according to the complaint. His parents reported him missing on May 8.

The final autopsy reports have not been completed, but in the preliminary report from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, both parents were stabbed multiple times with a weapon consistent with a screwdriver, according to the complaint.

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