As she did many a day, Diane Fortenberry went home on her lunch break Friday to let her dog out. That routine chore turned deadly when the 51-year-old wife and mother walked in to an apparent burglary underway at her home outside Osakis, Minn., and was killed by the intruder or intruders, the Todd County sheriff said on Saturday.
Her body was found around 5 p.m. Friday by one of her sons when he got home from work, Sheriff Peter Mikkelson said. Preliminary results from an autopsy conducted by the Anoka County medical examiner found that Fortenberry died of blunt-force trauma.
No suspects were in custody as of late Saturday afternoon, the sheriff said.
Fortenberry is survived by her husband, Michael Fortenberry, and two teenage sons.
Her violent death shocked the small central Minnesota community, a place where few people lock their doors and kids roam freely, residents said on Saturday.
"We are all shook up about it," said Lorellen Mielke, 61, who lives near the Fortenberrys' home. "My door is locked now."
Fortenberry usually had lunch with co-workers and then would go home briefly to let her dog out, Mikkelson said. Investigators suspect that when she went home to do that, she encountered an intruder or intruders and was killed.
Several items were taken from the Fortenberry residence on E. Whitetail Trail, Mikkelson said. They included a 32-inch Westinghouse flat-screen TV, a large amount of gold jewelry, a laptop computer, collector coins and bills, and various electronic devices.
