Minnesota Man Kills Sex Offender He Says Was Stalking His Daughter With Moose Antlers

GRAND MARAIS, Minn. — A Minnesota man was charged Friday with fatally beating an elderly man previously convicted of child sexual assault, who he believed had stalked his young daughter in the past.

Levi Axtell, 27, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Lawrence V. Scully, 77, who was beaten to death Wednesday at his home in Grand Marais.

A criminal complaint filed Friday said Axtell killed Scully with a shovel and a moose antler and then drove to the Cook County Sheriff's office and confessed, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

At a video hearing on Friday, Axtell's bail was set at $1 million.

Defense attorney Dennis Shaw noted during the hearing that Axtell had no serious criminal history until now and his longtime ties to Grand Marais made him a minimal flight risk.

Axtell remains jailed in Cook County. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 10.

In 2018, Axtell alleged that Scully was stalking his 22-month-old daughter and other children in his van, which he parked near her Grand Marais daycare.

Axtell sought an order of protection, which was granted but then dismissed within several weeks, according to court records.

In 1979, Scully was convicted in Kanabec County, Minnesota, of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl, according to Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen. He was released from prison in 1982.

On Wednesday, Axtell arrived at the sheriff's office covered in blood and “put his hands on his head and said that he had murdered (Scully) with a shovel,” according to Friday’s criminal complaint.