St. Paul woman, friend now face first-degree murder charges in fatal shooting of Guardsman

A grand jury indicted a St. Paul woman and her friend on charges of first-degree murder in the August killing of National Guardsman Brandon Horst.

Heather L. Horst, 24, is now charged in Ramsey County District Court with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony.

Aaron W. Allen, 25, faces the same charges.

A grand jury indicted them on additional charges late Wednesday, according to the Ramsey County attorney's office. The two were initially charged in mid-August.

A grand jury is made up of 23 randomly selected people. At least 12 members must agree to return an indictment.

According to charges: Horst's wife, Heather, told Allen and others that she was unhappy in her marriage and that her husband allegedly abused her.

She allegedly told Allen, "I want him dead," and that she wanted the shooting to look like a break-in, according to charges. She picked Allen up around 10:30 p.m. Aug. 4 and went to the couple's St. Paul home. She left her gun inside for Allen to use. He waited in the basement for Brandon Horst, 25, to fall asleep before shooting him, charges said.

Allen's attorney told the court that his client has 20 personalities and other mental illness. Allen will be evaluated to assess his mental state at the time of the shooting and his ability to understand the current court proceedings.

Allen is being held in custody on $1 million bail. Horst was out on $300,000 conditional bond release, and now faces a $500,000 bail after being arraigned Thursday morning.