Man charged with killing his elderly father in their St. Anthony home

A 47-year-old man fatally stabbed and beat his elderly father in their St. Anthony home, according to murder charges filed Monday.

Rodney B. Christopherson was charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in connection with the death of Donald A. Christopherson, 88, on Saturday at the home in the 2400 block of NE. 39th Avenue.

The son is in police custody while hospitalized for injuries that he said were self-inflicted, the complaint read. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

The complaint did not offer a motive for the killing. Family told police that Rodney Christopherson has a history of mental illness.

According to the complaint:

At the request of family, officers were dispatched to the home late Saturday afternoon and located the son face-down on the kitchen floor. He told police he stabbed himself in the chest and had been on the floor for hours.

The officers located Donald Christopherson in a bed and he was declared dead at the scene.

A metal mallet, a butcher knife and a second knife were also found in the home, all of them bloodied.

Another son of Donald Christopherson told police that his brother has schizophrenia and "had been living with [their father] for a while," the complaint read.

The brother said Rodney Christopherson has attempted suicide twice before, most recently about five years ago.