Man let out of prison early is charged killing wife, captured in NW. Minnesota after weeks on the run

Authorities on Wednedsday captured a man recently released from federal prison who they say went on the run in early July after his wife turned up dead outside the couple's northwestern Minnesota home.

Officers arrested Eric J. Reinbold, 44, about 12:30 a.m. in woods near his parents' property north of Oklee after officers from various law enforcement agencies converged on the area, according to the Pennington County Sheriff's Office.

"Agents were alert to movement in front of a trail camera," the statement said, adding that agents had searched the area after Reinbold fled.

Reinbold was wanted in connection with the death of 34-year-old Lissette Reinbold on July 9. The second-degree murder charges filed Friday in Pennington County District Court say Eric Reinbold was angry at his wife, accusing her of cheating on him and rejecting his demands for sex.

One of her children found Lissette Reinbold's body the next morning beside her vehicle, the charges read. She suffered stab wounds to her neck, torso and upper extremities, the criminal complaint noted.

Eric Reinbold remains jailed before a court appearance scheduled for Friday morning. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

Lissette Reinbold's death occurred less than four months after her husband was granted an early "compassionate release" from federal prison, where he was serving time for possessing pipe bombs. His sentence initially called for him to be locked up until February 2022.

A reward of up to $10,000 had been offered for information leading to Eric Reinbold's capture.

"No one saw this coming," Bruce Rivers, Eric Reinbold's attorney in the federal pipe bomb case, said Wednesday.

A federal warrant for his arrest had been issued for Reinbold due to his violation of the terms of his supervision. In December 2018, a federal jury in Fergus Falls convicted him of keeping the bombs at his hunting cabin near Oklee. A notebook in his desk detailed how to survive in the wilderness, build bombs and identify enemies.

He was sentenced to five years in prison. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim granted Reinbold an early "compassionate release" in March 2021 from the federal lockup in Oxford, Wis.

The defense argued that Reinbold's health problems, including high cholesterol and borderline high blood pressure, made him especially vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 while incarcerated. The filing also pointed to his wife's medical troubles as she cared for their children while staying employed.

In a follow-up filing, the defense pledged that Eric Reinbold's family members will "ensure he stays law abiding."

Prosecutors countered that Eric Reinbold had already contracted the virus and recovered. They also noted that the prison was virus-free at the time of their filing. "Reinbold is an active man in generally good health who appears to have recovered from COVID-19 without further incident," the filing read.

Tunheim's written ruling on March 18 explaining his decision to set Reinbold free early has yet to be made public. The Star Tribune has asked Tunheim's office for a copy of the ruling.

Eric Reinbold's criminal history also includes a conviction in 2015 and a brief jail sentence for ramming his truck into a car that was occupied by his wife and two children.

Lissette Reinbold, whose survivors include four children, "was a wonderful mother, daughter, sister and friend and will be dearly missed by all who knew her," her online obituary said. "Lissette was a very active, loving mother to her kids. She was a dance mom, soccer mom, basketball mom, theater mom, softball mom, and swimming mom."

She had started a new job in June working as an insurance representative at Sanford Health in Thief River Falls, according to the obituary.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482