Judge Finds Big Lake Man Not Guilty Due to Mental Illness

A Big Lake man accused of killing his mother in 2020 has been found not guilty by reason of mental illness.

A Sherburne County judge ruled that 26-year-old Eric Jordahl was suffering from a defect of reason that prevented him from understanding the nature or wrongfulness of his actions.

Jordahl was previously found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and two counts of second-degree murder in the death of Rosalie Johnson. Those findings came during the first stage of a split trial. The second stage determined whether Jordahl was criminally responsible under Minnesota’s mental-illness standard. Minnesota law