By: Mollee Francisco 

When Nancy Everson was shot to death in her Chaska residence last January, Linnea Stromberg-Wise and her husband, Jim, were already four and half months into a year-long trip around the eastern half of the United States in their 32-foot power boat. They had little knowledge of the gruesome murder that had occurred a half-mile from their home.

Eleven months later, Stromberg-Wise is all caught up. As one of the 12 Carver County residents selected to sit on the jury in the case of State of Minnesota vs. Grant Everson (Nancy’s son), Stromberg-Wise now knows intimate details about that murder that few people do.

“It’s hard to say it was a positive experience, but it was,” she said.  “I learned so much and have so much respect for the judicial system and for my fellow jurors.”

Last Thursday, the jury found Everson guilty on four counts of murder. They deliberated for two days before arriving at a unanimous verdict.

“It was fascinating to see 12 people come to the same place and see the different paths they took to get there,” said jury foreman Craig Benz. “It just demonstrates the differences between people and their life experiences.”

“It was not necessarily easy,” said fellow juror Megan Pitzen.

“There was nothing slam dunk about it,” added Stromberg-Wise.

Key elements

The jurors had seven days of testimony, 25 witnesses and 143 exhibits to consider in making their decision.

“It was extremely exhausting,” said Stromberg-Wise.

Much of the time spent in deliberations revolved around the ideas of intent and premeditation, Benz said. “We discussed what each of the words meant to us,” he said.

For Stromberg-Wise and Pitzen, key to their verdict was the testimony of Everson’s friends, Christopher Fuhrman and Joel Beckrich. Both Fuhrman and Beckrich were also charged in the murder. Charges against Fuhrman were dropped by the prosecuting attorneys after a judge overturned a murder indictment.

Beckrich pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree murder last month. His sentencing hearing is set for Dec. 15. Deals with the Carver County Attorney’s Office compelled both Fuhrman and Beckrich to testify against Everson.

“The question for us was, ‘Were they going to leave the house or was it a diversion to a new plan?’” said Pitzen. “In my opinion, if they were going to leave, they would have gone down the stairs and left.”

Pitzen was also convinced by both Beckrich’s testimony and Fuhrman’s corroboration that Everson pushed the shotgun into Beckrich’s hands and said, “You have to do it.”

Stromberg-Wise said they looked long and hard at the consistencies between Beckrich’s testimony and Fuhrman’s testimony.

Beckrich’s reliability was a central question in the jury deliberation room, Benz said.

What stuck out to her was Beckrich’s admission that he had two choices: to kill Nancy to get away with (the murder plan) or to not kill her and get caught.

“That showed premeditation,” Stromberg-Wise said.

Despite the defense’s concession that Everson was guilty of two charges of attempted murder, Stromberg-Wise said that the jury still looked at all four charges.

“It was a very careful jury,” said Stromberg-Wise.

“Both the prosecution and defense did a good job,” she added.

“The defense did a good job in instilling doubt in us,” said Pitzen.

But Pitzen was still looking for something from Everson.

“If there’s one thing I would have liked to have heard, it’s something from Grant,” she said. “But I understand he didn’t have to testify.”

Resuming life

This week, after being at the mercy of the court for three weeks, Stromberg-Wise, Pitzen and the other jurors have resumed their normal lives.

“I was so glad to be able to put my kindergartener on the bus this morning,” said Pitzen, admitting that she does miss some of the people she served on the jury with, including Stromberg-Wise.

“She served as a mother to us,” said Pitzen.

Pitzen said the jury members grew close over the three weeks they were together.

“We talked about our kids, the holidays,” she said, adding that she exchanged phone numbers with a couple jurors and has plans to send Christmas cards.

“You end up getting to know people pretty well,” said Stromberg-Wise.

“And it sounds bad, but there was a lot of laughter,” said Pitzen.

Stromberg-Wise agreed that there was a lot of laughter. Not about the trial, which they were not allowed to discuss until deliberations, but about life in general.

“It was more of a release,” said Stromberg-Wise. 

Now that it’s all over, the jurors are living with the weight of their decision. Everson faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“A lot of people’s lives are affected by your decision,” said Stromberg-Wise.

“I think everybody on that jury felt good about their decision,” she concluded. “We had to.”

“I’m confident that we gave due deliberation,” said Benz.

None of the trio has regretted their verdict or their participation in the trial thus far.

“I really felt it was my civic duty,” said Stromberg-Wise.

“I do believe in ‘innocent until proven guilty’,” said Pitzen. “So I was glad to be a part of this.”

“It was a life-changing experience,” said Benz.

Stromberg-Wise and Pitzen have also walked away from their juror experience with important lessons learned. For Stromberg-Wise, it’s a greater appreciation for the judicial system.

“I feel real proud to have been with these 11 other people,” she said. “We took our responsibility to heart.”

For Pitzen, who is the mother of two young boys, it’s a parenting lesson.

“This will make me be not so lenient in their future,” she said. “I’m going to be adamant about what path they take.”

She said she returned home after job was done, and hugged her sons a little longer and a little tighter.

This article appeared in the Dec. 7 print edition of the Chaska Herald.