Man Gets 12 Years In Beating Death Of St. Paul Woman

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 53-year-old St. Paul man has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for killing a 44-year-old woman with a baseball bat.

Michael Sherman was convicted of unintentional second-degree murder on Aug. 12 for the beating death of Lelia Kim Scott on Jan. 21.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Sherman's apartment building at 6:39 a.m. on Jan. 21, at 313 N. Dale St. by one of his neighbors.

Upon arrival, they found Scott's body and a bloody baseball bat. An autopsy determined Scott died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

According to the complaint, Scott was seen entering Sherman's apartment at 5:14 a.m. on Jan. 21. At 6:31 a.m., Sherman can be seen leaving his apartment and knocking on the neighbor's door. The neighbor then looked inside Sherman's apartment and immediately called police. Sherman was arrested that day by St. Paul Police.

Sherman, who is deaf, told police he acted in self-defense after Scott tried to steal his money.