Ronald David Mann, 51, of Cass Lake, was sentenced Thursday in Cass Lake District Court for felony second-degree murder of his father, Ivan Mann.
Ronald Mann was sentenced to 15 ½ years in prison.
Ivan Mann, 74 at the time of his death, was found dead near his home Aug. 22, 2007. An autopsy report listed his cause of death as manual strangulation accompanied by blunt force trauma to the head.
Neighbors expressed concern about Ivan Mann's welfare when they had not seen him for a while and asked law enforcement officers to check on him. A search warrant was executed.
According to the complaint filed against Ronald Mann, officers found apparent blood spatters on walls in Ronald Mann's home and Ivan Mann's home. They also found clothing with apparent blood spatters inside a wood stove in Ivan Mann's home. Jeans and a sheet in the kitchen sink appeared to be blood stained. A bottle of bleach and laundry detergent were nearby.
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The complaint indicates Ronald Mann told officers Aug. 23, 2007, he found Ivan Mann lying dead on the floor and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, then panicked and disposed of the body.
Ronald Mann said he and Ivan Mann had argued at Ivan Mann's house. He said he then struck Ivan Mann with a bloody towel. He indicated he had moved Ivan Mann's body to a wooded area where law enforcement officers subsequently recovered the body.
Officers noted pills had been taken from Sunday and Monday compartments of Ivan Mann's pillbox, but not from compartments for Tuesday through Saturday. Aug. 22, 2007, when the search warrant was executed, was a Wednesday. Officers also noted Ivan Mann had not written checks from his checkbook since Aug. 9.
