Father who shot his own son charged; alcohol and marijuana in his system

GAYLORD, Minn. -- A Belle Plaine hunter who fatally shot his 8-year-old son while turkey hunting had alcohol and marijuana in his system at the time, according to a criminal complaint Monday charging him with second-degree manslaughter.

Anthony Klaseus, 39, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.06 percent in a field test shortly after his son, Hunter, was shot, according to the complaint filed in Sibley County.

A urine test also found marijuana in Klaseus' system, but the exact amount won't be known for a few weeks, the complaint said.

Klaseus was also charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, trespass and hunting turkeys without a license.

The criminal complaint gave this account:

Klaseus told investigators he and his son went to a Sibley County field about 5 p.m. on April 19 to hunt turkeys. After they saw some turkeys in the distance, Klaseus told his son to stay put while he circled around to cut off the turkeys.

The turkeys were coming toward his call when Klaseus "heard a snap or something" behind him.

"It was grass high ... and with the boy with camo on and stuff and hood on, it looked like a turkey fanning out," the complaint quoted Klaseus as saying. "Like I said I told him to stay here and I figured it was a long ways, so I fired."

Hunter was dead at the scene.

Sibley County Attorney David Schauer declined to comment on the charges.

The name of Klaseus's attorney wasn't immediately available from the county, and a home phone listing was no longer active Monday.

Klaseus' will appear in Sibley County court later in the month.

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