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Woman Sentenced To 30 Years In Deer River Decapitation

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 23-year-old Grand Rapids woman faces 30 years in prison for her role in the decapitation of a man in northern Minnesota last year, according to the Itasca County Attorney's Office.

Kayleene Danielle Greniger received her sentence after pleading guilty in February to one count of murder in the second degree.

Kayleene Greniger
Kayleene Greniger (credit: Itasca Co. Attorney's Office)

Greniger admitted that she and 36-year-old Joseph Christen Thoresen killed 20-year-old David Alexander Haiman in June 2016.

According to the criminal complaint, Greniger and Thoresen beat Haiman at their apartment in Grand Rapids after Greniger told Thoresen Haiman had raped her. After the beating, the three left together in a car.

Greniger said the three smoked meth in the Ball Club area and Thoresen and Haiman got into an argument. Both men exited the vehicle to investigate car trouble and the argument escalated. The complaint states that Greniger saw Thoresen stab Haiman multiple times and cut off his head with Haiman's own knife.

Authorities found Haiman's body near the Ball Club area, west of Deer River, at 9:30 a.m. June 26, 2016. They found his head an hour later.

Thoresen was arrested after he and another man led police on a chase in Deer River.

In August, Thoresen was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Joseph Thoresen
(credit: CBS)
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