Inset: Jamie Lee Voelker (Windom Police Department). Background: The two streets in Windom, Minnesota, where Voelker committed the crimes (Google Maps).
A Minnesota man has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for fatally shooting his mother while in what authorities described as a drug-induced stupor.
Jamie Lee Voelker, 39, pleaded guilty in July to second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection with the death of his 70-year-old mother, Kathryn Voelker.
A Cottonwood County judge sentenced Voelker on Friday to 12 years and six months behind bars, according to a statement from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
The fatal shooting happened on July 23, 2025, at Kathryn Voelker’s home on 12th Avenue in Windom, a small southwestern Minnesota city about 150 miles from Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Authorities said that during the early morning hours, Voelker fired seven shots from a .22-caliber handgun. Officers responding to the residence were told by a witness that he was the shooter.
Kathryn Voelker was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined that she died from blood loss caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
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Voelker then entered a neighbor’s home on River Road and damaged the bathroom, prosecutors said. The neighbor alerted law enforcement, leading to Voelker’s arrest shortly afterward.
Before the attacks, Voelker had used a THC vape. He later told investigators that the marijuana was so potent he had no memory of shooting his mother or breaking into the neighboring residence.
As part of the summer plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed an additional charge of intentional murder.
Voelker entered what is known in Minnesota as a “Norgaard plea.” The procedure allows a defendant to plead guilty while acknowledging that he cannot fully remember the events in question. By entering the plea, however, he accepts that the state’s evidence would be strong enough 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 Minnesota Attorney General’s Office handled the prosecution after being asked to take the case by Cottonwood County Attorney Nick Anderson.
