Jail killing suspect had attacked another inmate

The man suspected in the death of Carl Moyle, who was killed Tuesday in the Sherburne County jail, Bruce Christenson, 28, was at the jail awaiting a court appearance on a charge that he assaulted a fellow inmate with a razor at St. Cloud prison.

According to a criminal complaint, guards saw Christenson attack another inmate in the serving line of the prison's dining room on April 18. The victim ended up on the floor, bleeding from a deep, six-inch-long cut on his neck, and on the floor guards found a disposable shaving razor that had been broken so that the metal blade was exposed.

The complaint said that when guards reached the scene, Christenson was "delivering kicks to the [victim's] head and neck." The complaint did not say what, if anything, provoked the attack.

Christenson was charged with second-degree assault and potentially faced an additional seven years in prison.

Anderson said that with no known reason to put the suspect in isolation, he was placed in the general population, in a pod of 15 cells where Carl Moyle was.

There also were no red flags at the jail in the hours leading up to the assault, Anderson said. Even two minutes before Moyle was beaten, the suspect seemed normal to guards, the sheriff said.

Byron Moyle said he and his family were told by Anderson that the suspect was seen holding his head in his hands in his cell just before the beating.

Seconds later, the suspect, who was in a cell designed to be handicapped accessible, apparently stood on a commode and kicked a metal bar loose from the wall, Anderson said. The inmate hid the bar in his pants as he walked to the cell where Carl Moyle was lying on his top bunk, his face to the wall.

Drawing the bar from his pants, he used it to repeatedly beat Moyle's skull about 9:20 p.m., Anderson said.

Deputies saw the commotion on camera and were there within minutes, Anderson said.

Moyle was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he died about an hour later.

Investigators haven't been able to find any signs that Moyle and the suspect had any interaction, Anderson said.

"Everybody did what they were to do," Anderson said. He said this was the first homicide in the jail in his 12 years as sheriff.

Christenson's criminal history includes convictions for second-degree burglary, escape and first-degree aggravated armed robbery. He had been held in segregation in Oak Park Heights and had been returned to segregation.

His father, Rodney Christenson, said that Bruce had been in and out of jail for most of his life. He said his son recently wrote him a letter in which Bruce said he was looking forward to being integrated with the general population.

Rodney Christenson knew nothing about the most recent allegations against his son when reached on his cell phone Wednesday, but said that Bruce had planned to represent himself in some coming litigation.

For Moyle and his family, the days events were unanticipated and tragic.

Carl Moyle didn't have a reliable way to get to his new job detailing cars for a dealership, so his younger brother offered up his truck.

Before he got to work Tuesday morning, an Elk River police officer stopped him for a cracked windshield and a few other minor violations.

Unable to provide proof of insurance for the pickup and carrying a history of convictions for moving violations, Moyle was jailed.

His younger brother, Byron Moyle, was left bewildered Wednesday, wondering exactly how this happened to Carl, who the family believes was sleeping in his cell, awaiting a Thursday morning court appearance.

"It's ludicrous," Byron Moyle said, his voice breaking as he choked back tears.

Sherburne County Sheriff Bruce Anderson said Wednesday night that he, too, had unanswered questions.

'Could have been any guy'

Elk River Police Chief Jeff Beahen said Carl Moyle was cooperative when he was arrested Tuesday morning in the traffic stop. The arresting officers told Moyle that they would try to write up the report quickly so he might be able to get a court hearing the same day, but they weren't able to do that, Beahen said.

"This guy could have been any guy," he said of Moyle. "It's tragic."

That Carl would have found any means of getting to work doesn't surprise those who knew him best. Kay Hultman, with whose family Carl lived for about a year, said she remembered him as a hard-working kid with a good heart.

"Sometimes it would be a snowmobile, sometimes hitching a ride with a co-worker," she said. She remembered Moyle, a close friend of her two sons, coming to her house, down on his luck and needing a place to stay.

"We told him for 100 bucks a month he could stay with us," she said. "I became another mother to him. He was my third son."

Hultman proudly recalled Wednesday seeing Carl Moyle grow into adulthood. She remembered his elation at the births of his sons and his sorrow when the first died.

"He was a great person," Byron said of his brother. "He was a good friend to a lot of people."

Hultman's son, Darcell Danzeisen, said that it feels like he has lost a brother. He remembers dreams the two had of opening their own stereo shop.

"I guess my frustration is with the jail," Danzeisen said. "My anger is with the fella that committed this crime."

Sheriff Anderson said he met with the family Wednesday to console and try to explain what happened.

"They're mad at law enforcement," he said. "They're mad at the system. I'm sure they're not happy, and they're hurting and they should [be]."

Staff writer Myron P. Medcalf contributed to this report.

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