Family, Community Mourns Wis. Man Killed In Fishing Altercation
ST. CROIX FALLS, Wis. (WCCO) -- The wife of a man stabbed to death along the St. Croix River is talking about how losing her husband has impacted their family.
"You can just imagine when they tell you to sit down. The panic that goes through your mind. It's the worst, possible news," Christie Kelley said.
On April 14th, Peter Kelly of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin was fatally stabbed after an altercation with a group of men along the St. Croix River. He leaves behind a wife and five children.
"Just a good guy. He was passionate. He wanted the best for people," Kelley said.
On the night Peter was killed, Christie said she heard a knock on her front door. All five of her children were sleeping, including 1-year-old Molly. When Christie answered the door, a sheriff's deputy gave her the news that she's still trying to comprehend.
"It took a couple minutes for him to work his way into what happened, and the nightmare kept getting worse and worse," she said.
He told her Peter had been killed -- stabbed to death during an altercation. She waited until her kids woke the next morning to tell them what happened to their dad.
"My 8-year-old just had his First Communion. His reaction was 'how could this happen? I just had my first communion,'" she said.
Weeks after Peter's death, Christie is trying to heal by remembering the man she was married to for nearly nine years.
"As a parent, he was really involved," she said. "Everything was about his kids. He was a fun guy to be around everybody wanted to be around him."
She says that's including the St. Croix Falls wrestling team, where Peter was a volunteer coach.
"He'd be up at 4:00 in the morning working 10 hour days at Andersen Windows," head coach Dan Clark said. "Then he'd volunteer at varsity practice. And then he'd run the youth program from 6 to 8 o'clock."
Clark knew Peter since they were kids. A few years ago, Peter was named Wisconsin's Youth Wrestling Coach of the Year, and Clark says he knows the program won't be the same without him.
"Just a great, great man. One of the best I know," Clark said. "We learned a lot from him. Not just about wrestling but so much more."
The wrestling team plans to rename their wall of fame after Peter, as well as a tournament in January. It's that kind of support that keeps Peter's family going.
"They've just been unbelievable," Kelley said. "Friends really come out of the woodwork when you need them most. We've seen support in every way."
Next year the wrestling team will also give out a Peter Kelly courage award in his honor.
Christie is now a single parent with five children under the age of 9. If you would like to help the family, there is a GoFundMe page for donations.
The man suspected of stabbing Peter, 19-year-old Levi Acre-Kendall, has been charged with first degree reckless homicide.
According to the The Sun Newspaper, Acre-Kendall posted bond five days ago.
He has a 9 p.m. curfew at his home in Cambridge, Minn., and he is also required to wear a GPS device that will monitor his location.
