A 29-year-old North St. Paul man moved back into his parents' home on Chippewa Avenue on a Saturday, and by Sunday afternoon his father was dead, bludgeoned twice in the head with a ball-peen hammer in what prosecutors are calling an unprovoked attack. Jamal Jevonta Nash now faces two counts of second-degree murder in his 69-year-old father's death, a case that has pulled his mother's account of his recent schizophrenia diagnosis and a medication change into the center of the criminal complaint.
North St. Paul police were called to the home in the 2700 block of Chippewa Avenue, just south of Annapolis Street, around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the criminal complaint as reported by the Pioneer Press. Nash's mother called 911, and Nash fled out the back door. Officers located Nash and took him into custody after learning his whereabouts, and they recovered the hammer at the scene. Nash's father was rushed to the hospital but died Monday from his injuries.
A Sudden Move, a Fatal Day Later
Per the complaint, Nash had moved into his parents' home just the day before the killing. His father set up a television in his room the following day — the same day prosecutors say Nash struck him twice on the right side of the head with the hammer. When officers reached him, Nash reportedly said, “Oh my god,” then cried and screamed, according to the complaint. He initially told police, “somebody hit my father, and my mother was crying,” before later admitting, “I hit my father,” and claiming his father had been holding him hostage, the complaint states.
Nash's father, 69, was pronounced dead at Regions Hospital in downtown St. Paul. Nash was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree intentional murder and second-degree unintentional murder, and he is scheduled for a first appearance before a judge Wednesday morning.
Mother Described Medication Change and Erratic Behavior
According to the complaint, Nash's mother told investigators her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia five years ago and had never before been violent or aggressive. She said Nash changed medications in mid-September and that the new prescriptions appeared to alter his behavior — he grew stressed, stayed awake for days, paced the floor, stopped eating, and his mood shifted noticeably, the complaint states.
The mother also told police that Nash had been hospitalized the week before the attack after having a seizure, and that he called his parents the day after to ask them to come get him. A physician had expressed concern that Nash should remain hospitalized longer, she said. She later learned Nash had not been truthful when he told her he had been released from the hospital, according to the complaint.
What Minnesota Law Says About Mental Illness Defenses
Second-degree intentional murder and second-degree unintentional murder each carry a statutory maximum of up to 40 years in prison under Minnesota Statute § 609.19. Should Nash's mental state become an issue, Minnesota's statutory test for criminal responsibility is addressed in Minn. Stat. § 611.026 and a Justia Law opinion.
In-custody felony defendants in Ramsey County typically make their first appearances at the Law Enforcement Center Courthouse on Grove Street in St. Paul before proceedings shift to the main Ramsey County Courthouse, according to Jack Rice Defense.
A Rare Homicide in a Quiet Suburb
The case now moves to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. It is among several recent North St. Paul cases drawing scrutiny of the city's police department, after Hoodline's earlier coverage of a care aide accused of neglect and a more recent search for a missing North St. Paul teenager.
