Charges: Man was 'off his medications,' killed mother in their St. Paul home

A 38-year-old man allegedly killed his mother last week by inflicting gruesome injuries to her face in the family's St. Paul home, according to a criminal complaint.

Christopher A. Olson was charged Thursday in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in connection with the death Tuesday of Sonja L. Olson, 61, in the 600 block of E. Cook Avenue.

The suspect remains jailed in lieu of a $1.5 million bond ahead of a court appearance. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

Court records show that Christopher Olson has been civilly committed in Ramsey County multiple times because of mental illness. The most recent commitment lasted six months until his release from Regions Hospital in March 2013.

According to the complaint: A 911 call from a neighbor brought police to the home around 4 a.m. Tuesday, where they found Sonja Olson dead in the entry. Officers arrested Christopher Olson, who was described as being "bipolar and off his medications," the complaint said.

A long wooden board with blood on it was found by police on a staircase leading downstairs, and a broken knife blade was found under Sonja Olson's head.

A woman who lives in the house told police that she heard Christopher Olson yelling at his mother and saw him grab her by the face and order her to go to sleep in her room. He then pushed his mother before stabbing her.

Christopher Olson declined to be interviewed by police.

His criminal history includes three convictions for domestic assault and one each for a first-degree drug offense, violating a domestic abuse no-contact order and violating an order for protection.

Arrest warrants reportedly were pending against Olson for a first-degree drug offense and for theft.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482