Court filings: Mentally diminished woman killed by man who kept defying no-contact order

A mentally diminished Coon Rapids woman with a court order barring her on- and off-again boyfriend from going near her was fatally stabbed by him, according to charges filed Monday.

Lucas A. Jablonski, 25, of Anoka, was charged Monday in Anoka County District Court with second-degree murder in the death in mid-August of 34-year-old Becky L. Drewlo, whose parents have been her guardians since she turned 18 in November 2000.

Jablonski has been jailed since he was charged in early September with violating the terms of the restraining order, which was granted at the request of her mother in September 2014.

Earlier violations by Jablonski of the same restraining order — in October 2014 and January 2016 — led to convictions in both instances but no significant time in custody.

Jablonski remains held in lieu of $1 million bail with conditions. Court records do not list an attorney for him. Drewlo's mother was unavailable for comment Tuesday evening.

"It is unfortunate when, once again, we have an example of domestic homicide," said County Attorney Tony Palumbo. "It's very disheartening to see a pattern of behavior continuing in our society where someone is close to another and commits just unspeakable violence against them."

Soon after Drewlo's death, a caller to 911 reported seeing Jablonski on the sidewalk outside the apartment complex in the 9200 block of University Avenue NW. with head, neck and facial injuries, according to the charges. He later told authorities that he believed the injuries were self-inflicted, but it took investigators three months to confirm the complex factors of the case, Palumbo said.

Jablonski had been living with Drewlo for several weeks leading up to her death, the complaint read, despite the restraining order being in force that "precluded [him] from having any contact with Ms. Drewlo and from being at her apartment."

In the petition for the restraining order, Laura Drewlo noted that Jablonski had "taken advantage of Becky sexual[ly] many times. Becky lacks sufficient understanding [and] therefore doesn't understand the consequences." She said her daughter had considered Jablonski her boyfriend in the months leading up to the petition being filed.

She said her daughter was in a program that allowed her to live independently with professional assistance and keep a job.

Court records show she was working at a Kmart in Blaine at the time the harassment order took effect.

The mother argued that Jablonski "has been taking advantage of" her daughter by moving into the apartment after he got out of prison in May 2014 on a robbery conviction, taking money for cigarettes and smoking marijuana in the daughter's home.

Laura Drewlo also wrote in the petition that Jablonski said that if he was forced out of the apartment he would hurt himself or her daughter.

She added that Jablonski was under a 72-hour hold at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids at time of her petition after he threatened to kill himself.

"He has made threats to himself and anyone who gets in his way of seeing Becky," she wrote.

According to the complaint detailing the of Becky Drewlo's death:

An emergency call in the early morning hours of Aug. 18 brought police to the apartment building, where they found a badly wounded Jablonski on the sidewalk and a knife under him. A trail of blood led to Drewlo's first-floor apartment.

Police saw "a significant amount of blood" in various locations in the residence. Drewlo was dead on a bedroom closet floor. Autopsy results revealed injuries to her head, neck, shoulders and all of her limbs. Bruising on her neck and other injuries pointed to having been choked. A tipless knife was located under her body.

Police said in the complaint that video surveillance captures the two together shortly after midnight just outside one of the apartment building's entrances. Drewlo's birthday had been that day.

Drewlo stepped just inside the entrance, "pauses to kiss" Jablonski and then walked toward her apartment.

A few minutes later on the video, Jablonski walked toward her apartment and was shown leaving about 90 minutes later.

Under questioning, Jablonski said his last recollection was being outside Drewlo's apartment complex and seeing her walk by. He also recalled "snorting synthetic meth" a day or two earlier.

"It's amazing and unbelievable at the same time that a person is more likely to be killed by somebody they shared a meal with last night than a complete stranger, in some instances," Palumbo said.

Staff writer David Chanen contributed to this report.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482