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Charges: 33-Year-Old Minneapolis Man Used Hammer, Knife To Kill Father

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 33-year-old Minneapolis man is accused of using a hammer and knife to kill his own father inside their home last week.

Anthony Ryan Jolson was charged Friday in Hennepin County with second-degree murder in connection to the Jan. 13 incident.

According to police, officers responded at around 9 p.m. to the 4700 block of Elliot Avenue South on reports of a domestic assault with injuries.

A witness at the scene, Jolson's brother, told police that his 58-year-old father was on the couch and injured. The brother said the victim had been hit on the head with a hammer, according to the complaint.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office later identified the father as Donald Jolson. His cause of death is listed as "complex homicidal violence."

Anthony Jolson
Anthony Jolson (credit: Hennepin County Jail)

Officers forced entry and found a bloody scene, the complaint said, with the victim showing obvious signs of trauma to his head and neck area. The victim was determined to be deceased by emergency medical responders.

Anthony Jolson resisted arrest initially, but was eventually taken into custody.

According to the complaint, Anthony Jolson's brother told police that Anthony had recently been acting paranoid, talked about the devil, occults and how the "COVID vaccine was a part of this." Anthony Jolson had allegedly been calling his father and brother the "devil." He allegedly told his brother that "the devil" made him kill his father.

A hammer and knife with blood-like substances on them were discovered in the living room.

If convicted, Anthony Jolson could face up to 40 years in prison.

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