WARREN, Minn. (KFGO) – A district judge has accepted a plea agreement from a Warren, Minnesota man charged in the beating death of his wife.
The deal would send him to prison for more than 18 years. Under the deal submitted to judge Corey Harbott, Anders Odegaard, 32, will plead guilty to second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony. In exchange, the state will dismiss a separate count of second-degree murder.
Odegaard’s attorney said the agreement will prevent the couple’s children from having to testify.
In August 2022, Marshall County deputies found Carissa Odegaard, 31, unresponsive in her Warren home with severe head trauma after an argument.
Two of the couple’s five children saw the attack. They stopped a man and asked him to call 911, saying their mother was bleeding and needed help. The kids were not hurt.
The criminal complaint says Anders Odegaard told a deputy, “I don’t feel right.” He appeared to have blood on his face and in his hair.
Carissa Odegaard died at a Fargo hospital.
Anders Odegaard was born in Grand Forks and graduated from UND Law School. He worked as an attorney for North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem in 2018 and 2019 before being terminated for cause. He also worked for North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread for six months before resigning from that position in May 2020.
The judge has scheduled sentencing for Jan. 29.
