On a Tuesday afternoon in September 2022, the quiet routine of a farm in rural Winthrop, Minnesota, was shattered by a grim discovery. Dennis Weitzenkamp, a 79-year-old White male, was found dead at his farm on September 20, 2022. The Sibley County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from a man who identified himself as Travis Joel Bauer, a farmhand who had worked for Weitzenkamp for years and was considered part of the family.
Bauer claimed to have found Weitzenkamp unresponsive in a machine shed. When the Winthrop Police Chief arrived at the scene, he found Weitzenkamp slumped over in a chair with a wound to the back of his head. It appeared he had been shucking an ear of corn just before he was killed.
An autopsy later confirmed that Dennis Weitzenkamp's death was a homicide, resulting from a gunshot wound to the back of the head with a small caliber bullet. The investigation, conducted by the Sibley County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, soon focused on the man who had reported the death. Investigators found inconsistencies in Travis Bauer's account of his whereabouts on the day of the murder. Cell phone data and surveillance footage contradicted his initial statements to law enforcement. During a later interview, Bauer admitted to lying, claiming he was nervous and wanted to keep his story straight. A search of Bauer's clothing also revealed gunshot residue.
The investigation uncovered a financial motive for the murder. On the day of Weitzenkamp's death, Bauer had received multiple calls about being late on payments for his home and the risk of losing it. Trust documents indicated that Bauer stood to receive a significant financial benefit from Weitzenkamp's death. There was no evidence of theft or burglary at the farm. In March 2023, Travis Joel Bauer, then 46, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. A Sibley County grand jury later indicted him on a charge of first-degree murder in April 2023.
In October 2024, a jury found Travis Joel Bauer guilty of second-degree intentional murder but acquitted him of the more serious charge of first-degree murder. In January 2025, Bauer was sentenced to 30.5 years in prison for the murder of the man who had been his long-time employer and had treated him like family. During the sentencing, family members described the killing as despicable and heinous, noting that Bauer never apologized or accepted responsibility for his actions.
