Friend heard money, relationship woes from man tied to Chanhassen killing who took his own life

Investigators have tied the fatal stabbing and shooting of a man in a sprawling Chanhassen complex of garages that houses high-end vehicles to a man who took his own life in his downtown Minneapolis home.

The body of Daniel S. Balto, 35, was found about 8 a.m. Saturday at his residence in the 600 block of S. Washington Avenue. The Carver County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sheriff Jason Kamerud classified Balto as a “person of interest” in connection with the death of 33-year-old Erik Allen Berger of St. Paul, who was found Friday in a garage at the AutoMotorPlex, a facility at 8100 Audubon Road that consists of deluxe garages that cater to exotic sports car buffs.

Berger sustained knife and gunshot wounds, Kamerud said in a statement. Berger was pronounced dead at the scene.

While officials have yet to point to a motive behind the deaths, Kamerud added that “this appears to be an isolated incident, and there is no evidence to suggest further danger to the public.”

Robert Malcomson, who lives on the same floor as Balto, said he had been a close friend and confidant to him for the past several years.

“He texted me that night, and I didn’t see it until the next morning,” Malcomson said of the text that asked him to care for Balto’s cats. “... It was a very ominous message.”

Malcomson said Balto talked to him over the past two months about his “significant relationship issues [concerning] infidelity and whether the relationship would survive. ... The humiliation and despair just went over the top for him.”

He also said Balto was in financial straits in connection with his company, Carmmunity Inc., the business behind a mobile app that offers car enthusiasts around the world a way to network.

A friend of Berger’s, T.J. Beadle, said Berger was a collector of vintage BMWs and a “pillar in the community” of car aficionados.

“It was very rare that he would miss an event” among the many car shows staged at the AutoMotorPlex, Beadle said. “If anyone had a weird project, he was someone people felt comfortable reaching out to. He wasn’t a mechanic by trade, but that was his passion.”

Berger’s brother, Scott Berger, posted on Facebook that “from talking to just a small sampling of his many loyal friends in the last couple days — and from my own experience with him as my best friend — I can say that Erik lived more life, a richer life, and accomplished more in 33 short years than many of us could hope to do in 103 years.”

Beadle knew Balto, too, and said “he was also well known in the car community. That’s what makes it all the more shocking. This is not something I would have expected out of Daniel.”

A 911 call from Berger’s parents shortly before 4 p.m. Friday concerning an “unknown medical” incident sent sheriff’s deputies to the garage.

“The victim’s parents had found their son lying on the floor in the garage,” Kamerud said in a statement. “They immediately called 911 and started CPR.” Evidence suggests that “a violent assault occurred,” Kamerud said.