Anders Odegaard Minnesota lawyer beats ex wife to death in front of couple’s five kids amid crippling debts and unpaid child support.
A former prosecutor has been accused of beating his ex-wife to death in front of the former couple’s five children, including a three-year-old boy who was in his mother’s arms as she was beaten, choked and left for dead in a pool of blood in front of the couple’s Minnesota home.
Anders Leland Odegaard, 31, following his arrest on Tuesday, was initially charged with assaulting his ex-wife Carissa Odegaard and causing serious injuries, KVVR reported.
Following the woman’s death on Thursday, charges against the former prosecutor and ‘on and off’ practising lawyer were upgraded to second degree murder.
In a custody dispute, Anders allegedly refused to let his ex wife take their kids to church with a fight breaking out, deputies wrote in the criminal complaint after interviewing the children, FOX News reported.
The couple married in 2011 but divorced in 2021, with court documents stating that there had been an ‘irretrievable breakdown of the marriage’.
‘I think she’s dead…’
Police were called to Anders’ home in Warren, Minnesota, on Tuesday, where they found Carissa lying in a pool of blood in a doorway near the dining room.
She had gone to collect the couple’s five kids for church at around 5pm and Anders, wearing just his boxers, flew into a rage and began beating her.
The couple’s oldest child, a nine-year-old boy, ran out of the home to a nearby highway to flag down a motorist.
The driver went to the family home, saw Carissa inside unconscious and called 911.
The stranger who was flagged down by the couple’s young sons, told police ‘their mom was bleeding really bad and needed help.
‘He spoke to the older of the two boys who said his mother was inside the house laying on the floor bleeding really bad. The boy said that he thinks that she is dead.
‘He asked the boy who was in the house and he said his dad was inside with his mom.’
Ongoing domestic violence
Police beckoned Anders out of the home.
When asked what had happened, a semi naked blood soaked Anders told police was ‘I don’t feel right.’
Inside, police found Carissa lying on the floor next to the dining table.
‘She was not breathing and had severe head trauma and had blood pooling on the floor by her head,’ a police report noted.
The two older boys were interviewed and told police that they had seen their father hit their mother in the past.
The couple had been married for ten years before they separated in 2020. Their divorce was finalized the following year, with Anders mandated to pay Carissa $1,983 in child support.
Crushed by crippling debts, unable to make good on child support
The father who was also ordered by a judge to backpay his ex-wife $11,000 in child support, struggled to make his legal obligations on account of the former couple undergoing crippling debt; Anders had $103,000 in student loans, a Lending Club Loan of $22,650 and multiple credit cards with a total balance of $32,750.
Carissa also had a Target credit card with an unpaid balance of $5,590, an Old Navy card with a balance of $1,770. Their shared credit cards had joint balances of $30,000.
It remained unclear, what reprieve, if any, the courts offered the struggling father.
Carissa’s family are now raising money to help pay for her funeral and care for the children.
‘This horrible tragedy will not be lost on our community. Carissa’s mom friends, community and family will miss her dearly and hope this will help to honor her name,’ they said in an online fundraiser.
The account, found here, as of Friday afternoon had raised more than $33,500 so far.
Carissa’s sister Anna told WDAY, that she had rebuilt her life after leaving her ex.
‘After leaving her ex-husband I watched her rebuild a beautiful life for her and her kids, she invested herself in all of their needs.
‘She was so elegant with each of their personalities, and gave all of them tools to succeed while cheering each of them on in their interest,’ she said.
Scattered work history, fired more than once
It’s unclear where Odegaard was working, or if he was still practicing law. He is qualified as an attorney in North Dakota.
According to the Mercer County State’s Attorney’s Office, Odegaard held the job for three months, from June to September 2021, before being fired. He spent three months as a public defender in Stark County, North Dakota, and was fired again. After another brief stint at a private practice, he moved back to Minnesota.
Odegaard faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison if convicted on the second-degree murder charge. Prosecutors are also seeking aggravated charges because “the victim was treated with particular cruelty” and because there were multiple child witnesses.
He made his first court appearance Thursday and was ordered held on $5 million bond without conditions, $2,500,000 surety bond or $250,000 cash.
Carissa Odegaard was pronounced brain-dead at Sanford Hospital in Fargo, North Dakota, on Aug. 24. She was being kept on life support until her organs could be donated.
