Inset left: Jordan Hanson (Kittson County Sheriff’s Office). Inset right: Justin Esparza (GoFundMe). Background: Hallock, Minnesota (Google Maps).
A Minnesota woman has pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of her boyfriend and has been sentenced to prison.
Jordan Hanson, 24, admitted to second-degree murder roughly one year after authorities say she shot and killed her boyfriend, 43-year-old Justin Esparza, inside his home in Hallock, Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Hanson used Esparza’s own handgun in the shooting before leaving the scene in his truck with his dog.
According to a statement of probable cause, Hanson returned to her mother’s home after the March 13, 2025, killing, bringing the dog with her, and told her mother she had shot Esparza.
Her mother contacted police after hearing what appeared to be a confession. During the call, Hanson allegedly told officers she “did not want to have the conversation over the phone but would rather talk in person,” before making a comment involving Esparza and his dog. Investigators said Hanson sounded as though she may have been under the influence of drugs.
Hanson’s mother also told authorities that her daughter had recently been picked up from a treatment center.
As officers spoke by phone with Hanson and her mother, Hanson’s sister placed a 911 call requesting that someone check on Esparza at his residence.
When police arrived at Esparza’s home, they found him dead in the living room with a head wound and blood around him. A Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun was found on the couch beside him, and a spent shell casing was on the floor.
When Chief Deputy Dave Thompson from the Kittson County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the home of Hanson’s mother, he placed Hanson under arrest. While she was being arrested, she told Thompson “that he lost weight.” She continued to talk, and police said she “was not making any sense.” Among her statements was a question about “what all the sugar beets were still doing on the ground.”
Thompson reportedly asked Hanson if she knew why she was being arrested. She replied, “[B]ecause she shot Chief Deputy Thompson and she was sorry.”
Police interviewed a witness who said he was at Esparza’s house, where he smoked meth with Hanson and Esparza. He confirmed that he saw Hanson shoot Esparza.
Hanson received a 15-year prison sentence on Wednesday.
