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Joseph Thoresen: Man Accused Of Decapitating 20-Year-Old Who Allegedly Raped His Girlfriend

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 15:58 PST, Jun 29, 2016

Joseph Thoresen allegedly decided to take matters in his own hands after his girlfriend claimed that another man had raped her, ambushing the 20-year-old man and beheading him with a machete before dumping his body in the woods.

The bizarre incident took place in northern Minnesota, where this week police arrested 35-year-old Thoresen on murder charges. Police claim that Thorsen hatched a plan to kill 20-year-old David Alexander Haiman after Thoresen’s girlfriend claimed that Haiman had raped her.

Thoresen allegedly hit Hiaman with a baseball bat, stabbed him in the lungs with a machete, and ultimately beheaded Haiman, the Pioneer Press reported. Authorities later found Haiman’s mutilated body in a wooded area in Itasca County.

Police arrested Thoresen after a brief car chase. A police report claimed that Thoresen, who was a passenger in the car being driven by a man identified only as T.M.C., held the driver at knifepoint and ordered him to flee from police, allegedly telling the man that he had murdered the car’s owner. The driver later crashed into a ditch, where police arrested Thoresen but found no knife and released him.

As the Pioneer Press noted, police came back to question Thoresen after Haiman was reported missing.

“Authorities again interviewed T.M.C., who told them Thoresen came to his apartment on June 21 or June 22 in Haiman’s vehicle. He said Thoresen told him that he had hit Haiman in the head with a bat, stabbed him in the lungs with a machete and cut off his head.”

“T.M.C. said he initially did not believe Thoresen, until the defendant showed up at T.M.C.’s apartment a few days later with a blood-covered bat. T.M.C. said he “got scared” and burned the bat.”

Police offered new details into the murder this week, saying that Haiman arrived at the apartment Thoresen and his girlfriend shared on June 21 or 22, where the woman immediately confronted Haiman. She alleged punched the 20-year-old in the face while accusing him of sexually assaulting her, and Thoresen also punched Haiman and said he should not have raped “my girl,” the Star-Tribune reported.

The three reportedly left in Haiman’s car together, then met up with another group of people and smoked meth. It was sometime during this evening that Haiman reportedly got into an argument with both Thoresen and Thoresen’s girlfriend, calling her a “slut.”

They drove around a bit longer but Joseph Thoresen said the car was having mechanical issues and stopped, police said. As Haiman opened the car’s hood to see what was wrong, Thoresen reportedly ambushed him, striking the 20-year-old with a baseball bat and stabbing him.

Thoresen’s girlfriend told police that Haiman was lying on the ground groaning and that she tried to stop Thoresen, but the 35-year-old allegedly took a machete that Haiman had in his belt and decapitated the victim, police said.

Police first became aware of Haiman’s disappearance when he failed to show up for work on Saturday. His cell phone showed no activity after Tuesday, and he had no Facebook activity since Monday.

Thoresen’s girlfriend led police to the murder scene, where they found Haiman’s body. A later search of T.M.C.’s home turned up more items, including a knife, bags with men’s clothing, and identification cards belonging to Haiman, the Pioneer Press reported.

Joseph Thoresen is being held in jail on $1 million bail and faces intentional second-degree murder charge for the killing and beheading of David Alexander Haiman. He faces a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted. Police have not yet said if anyone else will face criminal charges for Haiman’s murder.

[Image via Itasca County District Court]

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