Judge accepts plea deal in Marshall County murder case, family fears sentence isn’t long enough

MARSHALL COUNTY, Minn. (Valley News Live) - A Marshall County Judge has accepted a plea deal in the case of a Warren, Minnesota man accused of killing his ex-wife in front of their young children.

On Friday, December 22, Anders Odegaard pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder without Intent while committing a felony.

When asked to explain what happened on August 23, 2022, Odegaard said he was at home in Warren with his children before his ex-wife, Carissa Odegaard, arrived. He said she was there to pick up the children, but there was a disagreement between Carissa and himself.

Odegaard confirms that the argument turned physical, and when the attorney asked what happened, Odegaard said “I struck her.” The attorney clarified that Odegaard punched Carissa in the face, and Odegaard admitted that he punched her in the nose and she fell to the ground.

“You struck her with such force that you knocked her off her feet and she hit the floor, is that correct?” attorney Eric Gudmundson said. Odegaard simply said “yes.”

“Unfortunately, as a result of that, she died,” Gudmundson said. “And it was solely because of your intentional act of assaulting her.”

Odegaard claims he was not aware any of the kids witnessed the assault; however, based on statements from the children, at least one child saw the assault happen.

The judge said in order to accept the plea deal, he needed more explanation from Odegaard about what led to Carissa’s death.

“She fell and hit her head, and died from blunt force trauma and possible asphyxiation” attorney Gudmundson explained to the judge.

The autopsy showed Carissa had a broken nose and suffered from a lack of oxygen to her brain. Odegaard confirmed the lack of oxygen was a result of his attack on Carissa, and ultimately contributed to her death. A statement from one of the children says Anders was choking Carissa on the night of the assault.

One factor in the decision to make a plea deal was information from the coroner saying it’s possible that the choke-hold which contributed to Carissa’s death could have been accidental. This lead the defense attorney and prosecutor to come to an agreement on a charge “without intent.”

A second factor in the plea deal was to avoid the case going to trial, where young children would be called to testify.

“The two boys that gave statements in this matter would be called to testify, but because of the trauma they’ve experienced they would not be able to testify with Odegaard there,” the prosecutor said. Information from a social worker indicated the children may not be able to testify at all due to the trauma they’ve experienced.

Carissa’s family sent a letter to the court asking to increase the length of the sentence due to the trauma that the children have suffered, saying the 18 year sentence wasn’t significant enough.

“In a normal criminal case, which this certainly is not normal, testifying is a very difficult thing,” judge Corey Harbott said. “And I’m not saying the children couldn’t testify under certain circumstances, maybe after some time has passed, however it would be the most extreme circumstance for trauma... one of the most difficult circumstances ever to have those children testify.”

Several family members were at the plea hearing on December 22. Carissa’s sister addressed the court saying Odegaard serving two-thirds of a 220-month sentence isn’t long enough, and will have the family living in fear.

“That puts him out of prison before all of the children are even graduated from high school. And I hate the fear the children have of Anders Odegaard and the idea that [child] wouldn’t be able to walk to her car as as junior in high school without looking over her shoulder, being afraid of this horrible trauma she experienced. Or [child] won’t be able to go on a first date without looking over his shoulder. Maybe Anders will never come near us again, but that fear will still be there. That fear is there for me, that fear will be there for the kids. The fact that their prefrontal cortexes will not be fully developed and they will still be children when he gets out of prison, that is what bothers me about this sentence.”

Judge Corey Harbott accepted the plea agreement and Anders Odegaard’s guilty plea to 2nd degree murder without intent while committing a felony. The judge says Odegaard will be disbarred from practicing law and his parental rights will be terminated.

Family members of Carissa requested to delay sentencing so they have time to prepare victim impact statements. Sentencing is scheduled for January 29, 2024.