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St. Cloud woman faces up to 30 years for killing father with mallet

ST. CLOUD, Minn.-Lisa Kearney, who said she killed her father with two strikes to his head using a mallet that weighed more than 4 pounds, has pleaded guilty and faces up to 30 years in prison.The St. Cloud woman's sentencing is scheduled for Nov...

Lisa Kearney Photo from Stearns County Sheriff's Office
Lisa Kearney Photo from Stearns County Sheriff's Office

ST. CLOUD, Minn.-Lisa Kearney, who said she killed her father with two strikes to his head using a mallet that weighed more than 4 pounds, has pleaded guilty and faces up to 30 years in prison.

The St. Cloud woman's sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 30.

She pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder in Stearns County District Court.

Kearney, who's now 40, lived with her father, Jeffrey Eugene Schilling, in St. Cloud. Schilling was sleeping when Kearney struck him in early January 2016.

She took his wallet and keys and flew to Louisville, Kentucky, to visit her children, according to court testimony.

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Kearney spoke quietly in the courtroom when entering her guilty plea. A guard stood behind her in the courtroom, through what was scheduled as an omnibus hearing.

Kearney did not say much, but confirmed many statements made by her attorney Steven Bergeson and by Kevin Voss, senior assistant Stearns County Attorney.

After the second time Kearney struck her sleeping father, she realized he died.

"I covered him up," Kearney said. "I left."

She wanted Schilling's keys and didn't think he'd give them to her, as he'd previously refused. Kearney took his keys and wallet and headed to the airport.

Kearney understood, she said, that by pleading guilty she surrendered her right to a trial and the right to use the defense that she was mentally ill.

Since her arrest, Kearney was twice committed as mentally ill. In August 2016, a judge ruled her incompetent to stand trial. She was later found competent.

Judge Mary Mahler accepted Kearney's plea, and Kearney was returned to the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center.

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As part of her plea, the Stearns County Attorney's Office agreed it won't ask for more than a sentence of 360 months, or 30 years.

The sentencing range for second-degree murder in Minnesota starts at just under 22 years for people with the lowest criminal history score possible, and it goes as high as 40 years.

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