Joseph Kroll, a 31-year-old White male, was tragically killed on the evening of Sunday, January 4, 2015, in what authorities described as a violent double shooting inside a Brainerd, Minnesota, apartment. Another individual, a 31-year-old woman named Chelsey Crawford, was also shot and seriously injured in the attack. Both victims suffered apparent gunshot wounds to the head and were transported to a local hospital, where Kroll later succumbed to his injuries.
Crawford, however, was conscious and talking when she was taken for medical treatment and ultimately survived after undergoing surgeries.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led Brainerd police to identify two suspects, 23-year-old Tyler Cronquist and 26-year-old Nathan Becker, both from Brainerd. Believing the act was not random and that the suspects and victims were acquainted, authorities issued a public warning as they searched for the two men. Their efforts proved successful within hours of the incident. One of the men was arrested at a SuperAmerica gas station just after 10 p.m. that same night, and the other suspect surrendered to police about an hour later. This swift apprehension brought a sense of relief to the community, though the motive behind the violent encounter was still under investigation.
In the days that followed, the grim details of what transpired in the apartment began to emerge. According to the criminal complaint, Chelsey Crawford told police that both Becker and Cronquist were present in her apartment when Kroll arrived. At some point, she left the living room and then heard a loud noise. When she returned, she discovered Kroll lying on the floor. It was at that moment that Cronquist allegedly shot her in the head before he and Becker fled the scene. Based on the investigation and witness testimony, charges were filed against both men. Tyler Cronquist faced two counts of first and second-degree murder, while Nathan Becker was charged with four counts of aiding and abetting. Both men were subsequently held at the Crow Wing County Jail on a million-dollar bond. In October 2016, Tyler Allan Cronquist pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with intent in the death of Joseph Kroll and second-degree attempted murder with intent for the shooting of Chelsey Crawford. He was sentenced to a total of 38 years in prison for his crimes.
