Minnesota man allegedly executes father at hunting lodge as other relatives beg for their lives

Minnesota authorities arrested a man accused of executing his 64-year-old father at a rural hunting lodge, while other relatives pleaded for their lives. Kirk Edward Hazlett III, 31, of Cambridge, was arrested and booked into jail on charges including second-degree murder, kidnapping, and burglary. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. The incident occurred on Nov. 15 near Barns Spring Road in Hinckley, MN, Pine County News reported.

According to court filings, Kirk Edward Hazlett III allegedly broke into his father's hunting cabin and shot him eight times. He reportedly fired one last round at his father's head "execution style" to ensure he was dead, records show.

A relative of the victim and defendant that was also in the house reported to police that he received a notification from the cabin's security camera, which showed his nephew armed with a Glock handgun and extended magazine heading up the driveway. He hurried to get a firearm from the bedroom but was too late, hearing three gunshots before he could intervene. After he walked out of the bedroom, the relative saw the defendant inside the cabin armed with a pistol and standing over his wounded father who was "still alive and breathing a little bit," court documents state.

The witness said that the defendant then directed him and another relative to sit on a couch. They pleaded with the defendant not to be killed before he walked up to his father, who was lying in a pool of blood, and allegedly shot him one last time in the head. The defendant forced the two relatives to give him their phones and allowed them to leave the cabin. The pair, both men, sought help from a neighbor who called 911, according to the criminal complaint.

One of the men informed investigators that the father and son were not "getting along and hadn't for some time," nor was the defendant "in good relations with their family." The other witness said that the defendant entered the cabin "with a mission to kill" and immediately started shooting.

Pine County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Hazlett III at his residence in Cambridge later that evening and booked him into Pine County jail where he is being held on a $1 million bond. Police records show that authorities were dispatched to the cabin a month prior on Oct. 17 and trespassed the victim after his father told law enforcement he was not welcome on the property. The defendant told police that he threatened his father and had been drinking, records show.