Man Gets Life In Prison For Murdering Ex-Girlfriend

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 25-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend last October.

Tyler Andrew Wicklund pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and to being a felon with a weapon in the Oct. 29, 2010 death of 20-year-old Jessica Buboltz. He was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.

According to court documents, the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office responded to a disturbance on the 20000 block of 156th Street NW in Elk River at about 9:50 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2010. While on the way to the scene, authorities learned he was possibly involved in Buboltz's death in the city of Kasota in LeSueur County.

Authorities learned that the two had been at a Halloween party the night before. The two had broken up, and Wicklund slit her throat the next morning.

Sherburne County authorities then contacted the LeSueur County Sheriff's Office, who investigated Buboltz's death in Kasota. A friend said Buboltz was shot to death.

Wicklund was arrested in Elk River by the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office. Over the course of the investigation, friends of the couple told authorities that the two had a 1-year-old daughter together but weren't dating at the time of her death.