A grand jury will be convened next week to hear the case against murder suspect Carl Muggli.
The state last week ordered that Muggli’s case be considered for charges by a grand jury to be convened July 24-26 in Koochiching County, according to court documents.
The grand jury process is closed to the public.
Muggli, 50, was arrested June 7, 2011, and charged with intentional second-degree murder in the Nov. 26, 2010, death of his wife, Linda, 61, who died of head trauma.
He is accused of using a totem pole the couple was constructing at their Ray-area home in her death, according to court documents.
Carl and Linda Muggli, married 24 years, were apparently carving a totem pole on their 20-acre property near Ray when she was injured by the totem pole. She was taken to the International Falls hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to the complaint.
In late June, Judge Charles LeDuc ordered that evidence gathered by state and local law officers may be used in prosecution of Muggli.
Certain crimes, such as those that carry with them a possible life sentence, may only proceed by a grand jury indictment. The prosecution, being led by county Attorney Jeff Nagloski with assistance by Robert A. Plesha, assistant Minnesota attorney general, will present the case against Muggli and the grand jury will decide what level of crime, if any, should be charged.
Under state law, the highest level of crime in the Muggli case the county attorney was able to charge through a criminal complaint is intentional murder in the second degree. A grand jury has the ability to indict Muggli on first-degree premeditated intentional homicide.
The difference in crime levels able to be charged is an effort by state officials to limit the power of one person — the county attorney — in the process. A grand jury is made up of eligible jurors who, acting as representatives of the community, may decide a higher level of charge that could carry the possibility of a life sentence. For example, a grand jury indictment is needed in a third or subsequent criminal sexual conduct charge, because a conviction carries a life sentence and a grand jury would be required to decide, as representatives of the community, if that is warranted.
Grand jurors are made up of county residents eligible for regular jury duty.
Should the grand jury indict Muggli, a trial would be scheduled to be heard by a trial jury.
The complaint against Muggli alleges that after Linda’s death, he gave several different explanations to law officials and others of what happened the day she died.
Court documents also show that the investigation into Linda’s death deepened after a “concerned citizen” pointed to entries made on a Facebook account which appeared to be “very intimate in nature.”
A search warrant obtained computer equipment from the Muggli residence and revealed conversations between Carl Muggli and a person with whom it appears he was having a romantic relationship.
Muggli was released on bail June 24, 2011, under an agreement that allowed him to pledge a property bond for a parcel of Ray property he sold for $165,000 on contract for deed with an outstanding mortgage balance of about $80,000. Muggli posted an additional unsecured appearance bond in the amount of $500,000. Under the terms of the agreement, he was released to the custody of his sister, Helen Wallander, of the Falls, and must wear a GPS monitor.
LeDuc later agreed to allow Muggli to leave Koochiching County to work in the Kabetogama area, saying that Kabetogama, just outside the county’s boundaries, is a part of the larger Borderland community and that Muggli had worked in that area previously.
Prosecutors sought a $1 million bail, which was later reduced by LeDuc.
