The man went out, killed a mother and broke into a neighbor’s home

A Minnesota man will spend the next decade in prison after admitting to fatally shooting his mother and breaking into a neighbor’s home while he was out on drugs.

Jamie Lee Voelker pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in July after his mother’s death, Kathryn Voelker.

More than two months after entering the plea, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office announced in a press release that Jamie, 39, was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison on Friday, October 2.

He found his fate less than a year after the fatal event occurred on July 23, 2025. At the time, Jamie went to his mother’s home in Windom, Minnesota, in the wee hours of the morning. Authorities said he then shot Kathryn, 70, seven times with a .22-caliber handgun.

Police were called to the house, and a witness told authorities that Jamie was the shooter.

Kathryn was then rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy was later performed, which revealed that the cause of death was blood loss from multiple gunshot wounds.

After shooting his mother, Jamie broke into a neighbor’s home and vandalized the bathroom. The neighbor called the police and Jamie was arrested a short time later.

An investigation was then launched into the case, and the authorities learned that Jamie was smoking from a THC vape before the violence. He later told investigators that he had no recollection of committing the crimes because of the high of the marijuana.

Jamie confessed as part of a deal with prosecutors, which dismissed an additional charge of first-degree murder.

The defendant filed a “Norgaard plea”, which allows a defendant to plead guilty even when they cannot fully remember what happened at the time of the crime in the state of Minnesota. As part of the plea, the defendant concedes that the state’s evidence would be sufficient for a jury to prove them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Voelker’s crime is truly horrific for his family and the entire Windom community,” the Minnesota Attorney General said Keith Ellison he said after his conviction. “We can never bring his mother back, but I hope that being responsible is an important step in healing.”

Attorney General Ellison’s office charged Jamie after a tip from the Cottonwood County Attorney Nick Andersonaccording to the press release.

The case was investigated by the Windom Police Department, the Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.