Police ID homicide victim from last week in St. Paul, remain mum on how the man was killed

Police on Tuesday identified the man who was killed in his St. Paul home last week.

Andrew J. Gutzman, 37, suffered what police Sgt. Mike Ernster called a “certain level of trauma” Friday at his residence in the 900 block of Hatch Avenue.

Ernster declined late Tuesday afternoon to be more specific about further details about Gutzman’s death in order “to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”

No arrests have been announced.

James Gutzman, Andrew’s father, said police have said nothing to him about the circumstances of the killing.

“Andrew Gutzman is the only son of James Gutzman and Deborah McIntyre. Andrew was a kind, generous child of God,” Gutzman said, reading from his son’s obituary. “He loved the outdoors and was most at home in nature. He shared laughter and love everywhere he went. This is a devastating loss.”

According to Ernster and a neighbor, Sean Devaney, a woman began running up and down an alley yelling about a man not breathing about 7:30 a.m. The woman was taken to a police station to be interviewed. Officials have not disclosed her relationship to Gutzman.

Officers entered the home, found Gutzman unconscious and encountered an aggressive dog. Ernster said the dog was shot and killed after it bit an officer. Medics pronounced Gutzman dead at the scene.

At some point, Devaney said he heard a gunshot.

“After the gunshot went off, the place lit up with sirens,” he said.

Ernster said police have been called to the home 25 times just this year, often for domestic disturbances and property crimes.

Devaney said Gutzman often had a partner visit. He said he frequently heard screaming and other disturbances there over the past couple of years.