Authorities are searching for a 62-year-old Edina man who allegedly injected his ailing mother with a lethal dose of fentanyl in an apartment they shared and where police seized a large quantity of marijuana, other illicit drugs and a handgun.
Scott A. Henkel was charged Friday in Hennepin County District Court with third-degree murder, four felony drug counts and a weapons possession violation in connection with the death of 82-year-old Carol L. Henkel in November 2020.
A nationwide warrant has been issued for Henkel's arrest.
Police made two welfare checks at the home, one on Oct. 26 at the request of Hennepin County adult protection officials, and another at the request of one of her daughters two days before Carol Henkel died, court records disclosed. In both instances, the records continued, officers did not intervene.
According to the criminal complaint and numerous search warrant affidavits:
Police were called to the home in the 7600 block of Edinborough Way and located Carol Henkel dead in her bed about 1:35 p.m. on Nov. 7.
Scott Henkel told police that his mother had fallen several times recently and he last saw her about 2 a.m. that day, when he gave her an over-the-counter pain reliever.
He said he returned from a trip to the store, found that he could not awaken his mother and called 911.