Inset: Jamie Lee Voelker (Windom Police Department). Background: The two streets where Voelker committed two crimes in Windom, Minn. (Google Maps).
A Minnesota man will spend just over a decade behind bars for shooting and killing his mother in a drug-induced stupor.
In July, Jamie Lee Voelker, 39, pleaded guilty to one count each of murder in the second degree and first-degree burglary over the incident that took the life of 70-year-old Kathryn Voelker.
On Friday, the defendant was sentenced by a judge in Cottonwood County to 12 years and six months in prison, according to a press release issued by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office.
The underlying incident occurred on July 23, 2025, at the victim's residence on 12th Avenue in Windom — a small town located roughly 150 miles southwest of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
During the early morning hours, the son shot his mother seven times with a .22-caliber handgun, authorities said. Authorities were called to the house where a witness identified the defendant as the shooter.
Kathryn Voelker was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy attributed the woman's cause of death to blood loss from multiple gunshot wounds.
After the shooting, Jamie Lee Voelker broke into a neighbor's residence on River Road and damaged the bathroom. That neighbor contacted law enforcement, and the defendant was quickly arrested.
Before the violence, the defendant smoked from a THC vape and told investigators that he had absolutely no memory of the crimes he committed due to the potency of the marijuana.
In exchange for his guilty plea over the summer, prosecutors dismissed an additional intentional murder charge.
Specifically, Jamie Lee Voelker entered what is known as a "Norgaard plea." In Minnesota, the procedure allows a defendant to plead guilty even when they cannot fully recall the facts of the crime. Still, under such a plea, a defendant concedes the state's evidence would be sufficient for a jury to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Voelker's crime is absolutely horrific for his family and the entire community of Windom," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. "We can never bring his mother back, but I hope that his being held accountable is an important step in healing."
The state AG's office prosecuted Voelker upon a referral from Cottonwood County Attorney Nick Anderson.
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