In a quiet home northeast of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, the life of a bright-eyed three-year-old boy named Koltyn Wayne Bartnes was tragically cut short. On Monday, March 30, 2026, Koltyn and his father, 45-year-old Gene Russell Bartnes, were found deceased in what authorities would later confirm was a devastating murder-suicide. The discovery was made after Gene's brother grew concerned when he failed to show up for work and went to check on him at his residence.
Upon entering the home,
the brother was met with a horrific scene, finding his brother dead from an apparent gunshot wound. When sheriff's deputies arrived, they made the heartbreaking discovery of young Koltyn, also deceased from a gunshot wound. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office later officially ruled Koltyn's death a homicide and his father's a suicide.
According to Koltyn's mother, Kristi Frazier, police informed her that her son was shot in the back while he was asleep. His father then lay down next to him before taking his own life with a gunshot to the chest. Three suicide notes were reportedly left behind by Gene Bartnes—one for Kristi, one for law enforcement, and a third offering a general apology. The contents of these notes were not publicly disclosed as they were collected by police as part of the investigation.
Friends and family remember Koltyn as a joyful child who loved animals, Spider-Man, and cherished his family. His obituary paints a picture of a little boy who found happiness in simple pleasures like fishing, riding dirt bikes, and spending time on his grandfathers' farms. A GoFundMe was established to support Koltyn's mother and his siblings during the unimaginably difficult time, with the funds intended to help with funeral expenses and other financial burdens. The incident was deemed isolated by the Becker County Sheriff's Office, with no ongoing threat to the public. The investigation was assisted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Crime Lab. Prior to the incident, Gene Bartnes had reportedly completed three years of unsupervised probation for a misdemeanor domestic assault conviction from 2023.
