LeSueur Man Sentenced To 30 Years For Killing 74-Year-Old Man
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A LeSueur man was sentenced to more than 30 years behind bars for killing the grandfather of one of his friends.
On July 22, Eden Prairie police found 74-year-old Allen Retzer dead at his home on South Bay Curve. An autopsy revealed he had died from being stabbed in the neck. Nathan Foth, 24, was taken into custody and confessed to the crime weeks later.
The family of Allen Retzer packed the courtroom and the four who gave impact statements all asked the judge for the maximum sentence for the man who took away the glue that held their family together.
"The fact that my kids and my husband aren't going to be the person that I use to be, I'm forever changed," Retzer's daughter Bobbie Brandt said.
One by one, those closest to Al Retzer spoke about the impact his murder has had on them.
"For me I am perpetually stuck at the time of my father's death and I am unable to move away from it," said Brandt.
Judge Jeannice Reding listened as family members described how the brutal murder of Retzer has forever changed the dynamics of this once close knit family.
"Because of Nathan's actions, I am now someone I don't recognize," Brandt said. "Life is a daily struggle and I feel it difficult to return to the person I sue to be."
Brandt says she, her husband and daughters know there was a plea deal but feel Nathan Foth has never told them why he decided to take Al's life.
According to court documents, Foth forced his way into the home of his friend's grandfather in Eden Prairie back in July 2016. He lived there for two days undetected.
Foth told detectives he heard voices before stabbing the homeowner, 74 year-old Allen Retzer to death. Documents say Foth took a gun case, credit cards, money and a van before leaving the scene of the crime.
That same day, the van was discovered by state troopers in Utah on Interstate 15 just south of Salt Lake City. Inside they found evidence that linked Foth to the murder of Retzer.
"I know that Nathan's attorney have tried to say that this is a mental health issue, and I know and Nathan knows that's not true," Brandt said. "That is what you call a Hail Mary for the defense, who have no defense for such a dark and evil defense."
Retzer's family say they find comfort in knowing he was a man of faith and they know he is in a better place.
Foth apologized to the family before being sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. He said he knows now the impact of his actions on the family that loved Al so very much.
