Family and friends remember Minneapolis woman killed in murder-suicide

Not long before Sarah Patrick was killed in a murder-suicide in Minneapolis last month, things were looking up for her. She was settling into her new job at the Prohibition Bar and was excited about a promotion from barback to server.

Days later, a man she had an on-and-off relationship with, Adam Erickson, shot and killed her and himself in his home in the city's Longfellow neighborhood. The Aug. 3 shooting was not disclosed by officials until Tuesday, nearly six weeks later.

Friends, family and co-workers of Patrick, 30, said they are reeling from her murder.

"We are devastated that someone would extinguish the light of such a vibrant, resilient person, and we will spend the rest of our lives grieving this loss," Patrick's close friend Finn McGarrity said Wednesday, describing Patrick as "bright, witty and smart."

"She moved through the world with an optimistic wonder that inspired everyone she met," McGarrity said.

Patrick and Erickson, 38, were identified Tuesday in a news release from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.

A little before 6 p.m. Aug. 3, Erickson's roommate called 911 and said he came home to find Erickson in his room not breathing, according to a police incident report. Minneapolis Police Department officers responded to the duplex in the 2800 block of 29th Avenue S. and found Erickson and Patrick dead in the apartment.

Both died from a gunshot wound to the head, the Medical Examiner's Office said.

Investigators recovered a gun they believe Erickson used, the police department said in a news release. Police are not looking for suspects and the case will be closed, the release added.

Patrick grew up in Florida and Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota to study art design.

"She was an incredible artist and painter," said her father, Chris Patrick.

Patrick struggled with drug use for years, but she had been doing better recently, Chris Patrick said.

"My impression was she was in a better headspace, and a better contentment with her life," he said.

She had worked just under a year at Prohibition Bar downtown, and was quick to make friends, manager JT Dixon said Wednesday.

"Everybody loved her," Dixon said.

Dixon described Patrick as timid at first, but said recently she was coming into her own. The night Dixon found out she was killed, it was hard to make it through his work shift, he said.

"I had to put on a facade and act like I was OK, and I wasn't," he said.

Chris Patrick said his daughter first had a relationship with Erickson around 2014, and said recently she was trying to separate from him. In July, Patrick moved in with her friend McGarrity, who alleges Erickson came to their house looking for her.

"This was an escalating situation up until the moment she died," McGarrity said.

Calls to Erickson's family and roommate seeking comment were not returned. An obituary for Erickson says he "lost his battle with mental illness."

It describes him as a talented craftsman and handyman, and someone who was artistic and loved animals.

Britleigh Cocozzello, 35, who worked with Patrick when she was a server at Leaning Tower of Pizza, said she was also saddened by the loss.

"She was such a sweet girl, down for anything, and I really liked her and enjoyed hanging out with her," Cocozzello said.

Several years ago, Patrick offered to model clothing made by Cocozzello for photoshoots. As co-workers they had fun taking pictures of Patrick re-creating a 30-year-old painting at the restaurant of a woman saying, "Please meet me" at happy hour.

Restaurant owner James Groethe remembered Patrick as a good worker and described her as very nice.

"It's really sad. … I wished better for her," Groethe said.

Patrick’s friends and family encouraged the public to donate to Violence Free Minnesota, which works to combat domestic violence.