VIRGINIA, MINN. − The new trial for an Iron Range man accused of killing a Chisholm woman in the mid-1980s was stalled Tuesday morning after two potential jurors were let go before they could be sworn in at the St. Louis County Courthouse.
Iron Range cold-case murder trial stalled before it starts
The search to replace two potential jurors dismissed continues Wednesday in a Chisholm man’s retrial at the St. Louis County Courthouse in Virginia.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 22, 2025 at 1:49AM
Fifteen potential jurors were selected last week: 12 to decide whether Michael Allan Carbo, 56, is guilty of murdering Nancy Daugherty in 1986; three for backup. Now down to just a single alternate, attorneys opted to reopen the jury pool for replacements.
Attorneys are expected to sort through 14 potential jurors on Wednesday.
The trial could have gone on. But Judge Robert C. Friday noted that it’s January in Minnesota and a range of illnesses are circulating. If more jurors were lost, it could lead to a mistrial.
“That would be unfortunate for the state and more so for Mr. Carbo,” Friday said from the bench.
The potential jurors who were let go were women who, in both cases, left after a confidential meeting with the judge, attorneys and the accused. No reasons were given for either departure.
In 2022, Carbo was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of Daugherty, a 38-year-old mother of two who had immediate plans to leave the Iron Range to further her paramedic training in Minneapolis. Daugherty was found dead in the bed of her home, a victim of strangulation and sexual assault.
In May, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Carbo should have been able to use an alternate perpetrator defense, and kicked it back to District Court. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday morning, and the alternate suspect, Brian Evenson, is among the first witnesses.
The agent was identified as David “Chris” Maland, 44. Maland was a Blue Earth native and a graduate of Fairmont High School.
