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30 years for man who killed fellow inmate in Sherburne County jail
Inmate's beating of another prisoner in Sherburne County led to changes in offender-transfer procedures.
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Share on DiggAn Iron Range man charged with beating another man to death while both were prisoners in the Sherburne County jail pleaded guilty and was sentenced Tuesday.
Bruce Christenson, 29, of Hibbing pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Carl Moyle, 28, of Elk River. He was sentenced to serve at least 30 years in prison before he will be eligible for parole. Christenson killed Moyle with a hand railing he broke off a cell wall in August 2006.
The case drew widespread attention because Christenson, who had been transferred from Oak Park Heights maximum security prison, was placed in the general jail population with Moyle, jailed for repeatedly having no vehicle insurance.
Jail officials claimed they didn't know Christenson had been in a segregation unit at Oak Park. After a review, state corrections officials now provide prison inmate behavior forms when they are transferred to jails. But the Moyle family has sued Sherburne County for negligence.
Before being sentenced Tuesday, Christenson testified that he took three hours to get the handrail off the wall with the intent of killing somebody. He said he didn't target Moyle, who was sleeping in the adjacent cell. "If he wasn't there, it would have been someone else," Christenson said. He also apologized "for what I did," to Moyle's family members sitting in the courtroom.
After the sentencing, Judge Alan Pendleton told Christenson: "Yours was an incredibly vicious, cruel and senseless act. May God have mercy on your soul."
Christenson has been incarcerated in the mental health unit of Oak Park Heights and been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Although several psychiatrists evaluated him after the killing, he waived a mental illness defense. However, state public defender Daniel Benson said in court: "The man who went into Carl's cell on Aug. 8, 2006, was not rational. ... He is not the man in this courtroom today."
Moyle's family and friends gave moving statements that described a caring, giving man who loved his toddler son, Pontiac automobiles and snowmobiles. Moyle's father said the loss of his son has caused him to see a psychologist and take medication.
Moyle's sister, Michelle Work, wrote in her statement that she went to her brother's grave with his 3-year-old, who laid flowers on it and said, "I love you, Daddy." She added: "You murdered my big brother and took him away from everyone who loved him."
Moyle's family has filed a federal lawsuit against the county and its sheriff, seeking more than $30 million in damages, alleging negligence for not holding Christenson in a high-security area of the jail.
Jim Adams • 612-673-7658
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