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Suspect Says Home Invasion Deaths 'Accidental'
WCCO 4 News ^ | 2-5-07 | Sue Turner

Posted on 02/05/2007 2:42:41 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo

On Monday, prosecutors charged a 24-year-old man with the shooting deaths of a father and son during a home invasion in Waseca, Minn. early Saturday morning.

Michael S. Zabawa, 24, was charged in Waseca County District Court with two counts of second-degree intentional murder. Bail was set at $2 million.

Zabawa is accused of breaking into the home of Tracy and Hilary Kruger early Saturday morning and killing Tracy Kruger, 40, and his son, Alec, 13. Hilary Kruger, 41, was wounded in the upper torso.

According to a criminal complaint, Zabawa told police that Tracy Kruger confronted him with a shotgun after he entered the Krugers' home and that Kruger was accidentally shot during a struggle for the weapon.

He also said the gun accidentally discharged and wounded Hilary Kruger and then went off again after he dropped it to flee, striking Alec.

Police believe the shootings happened after Zabawa's vehicle went into the ditch and became stuck outside the Kruger home. Zabawa went to the Kruger residence, got into their SUV and tried to pull his vehicle out of the ditch, but when that didn't work he went into the house, where he was confronted by Tracy Kruger, the complaint said.

Hilary Kruger, however, painted a different picture for police, according to the complaint.

She told an officer that her husband was shot by a tall, thin man with a long gun and that she told Alec to call police after her husband was shot upstairs. She said the shooter then went downstairs and then came back up again and shot her and Alec, the complaint said.

Another officer who responded to the 911 call found a shotgun leaning against an upstairs bedroom door and spent and unspent shotgun shells littering the floor at the top of the stairs. He found Alec dead in a bed while Hilary Kruger also lay on a bed, critically wounded. Tracy Kruger was found dead on an upstairs floor.

Hilary Kruger is in critical condition at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale. A close friend said she is stabilizing, but will have several surgeries ahead of her.

"I just started crying because they were the closest to me. They were like brothers to me," said Tanya Moses who was a neighbor of the Krugers' for most of her life.

Zabawa is from Matawan, Minn., about 15 miles south of Waseca. Deputies said he has made statements to put him at the scenes and authorities said he did not know the Kruger family.

Zabawa was arrested hours after the shooting at his home in Matawan.

Zabawa was charged with shoplifting in 2001 in Freeborn County and drunken-driving in Steele County in 2004 and Waseca County in December 2006. In 2004, he was convicted of felony theft and criminal damage to property in Lake County, according to state court documents.

While the investigation continues, Alec Kruger's junior high school prepared Sunday for grieving students.

"We have met with our crisis team and put together a plan to come back to school on Monday," said Bill Bunkers, principal of Waseca Junior High.

The Krugers' youngest son, Zak, was at a sleepover when the attack happened. He is now staying with relatives.

Many other people are thinking the same thing Tasha Moses is.

"I just really miss them, I wish I could go back in time and stop it from happening," said Tasha Moses, a former neighbor.

WCCO-TV spoke with the neighbors whose car was stolen. They said they didn't hear or see anything and did not even know their car was stolen until the next morning.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: armedcitizen; banglist; crime; homeinvasion
Zabawa's Lawyer: "So, that's really how it happened?"

Zabawa: "That's exactly how it went down."

Zabawa's Lawyer: "Dude, you are SO screwed."

1 posted on 02/05/2007 2:42:42 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
Michael S. Zabawa, 24, was charged in Waseca County District Court with two counts of second-degree intentional murder.

Seems to me the prosecution could've gone for two counts of Murder 1 under the Felony-Murder Rule.

2 posted on 02/05/2007 2:46:13 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

Fry him.
Slowly.

Than give him a fair trial.


3 posted on 02/05/2007 2:47:02 PM PST by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca, Deport all illegals, abolish the IRS, ATF and DEA)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

LOL!


4 posted on 02/05/2007 2:47:44 PM PST by spunkets
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

Where was the murderer from before he moved to MN? Two more murders may need to be added on the Illegal Alien Body Count. Currently, over 45,000 US citizens have been killed by acts of illegals since 9/11.


5 posted on 02/05/2007 2:50:20 PM PST by kittymyrib
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo


Glock when a 5 minute response time is a death sentence


6 posted on 02/05/2007 2:50:51 PM PST by Recon Dad (Marine Spec Ops Dad)
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To: martin_fierro

What's going to be BIG in all of this, is the fact that State Republicans are trying to pass an improved castle-doctrine bill in the current session. This homeowner hesitated, as best I can tell at this time, and it cost him and his son their lives. There's always a threat of being prosecuted in this state for defending yourself and the new "stand your ground" bill being considered will remove that threat.


7 posted on 02/05/2007 2:51:13 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

No way it can be accidental. Break into someone's home and you are responsible for whatever happens. (This applies as well if it is undercover police breaking into the wrong home)


8 posted on 02/05/2007 2:54:10 PM PST by Leftism is Mentally Deranged
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To: kittymyrib

He appears to be a local.


9 posted on 02/05/2007 2:55:33 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him.


10 posted on 02/05/2007 2:59:34 PM PST by jackieaxe (Unsourced reporting is not reporting but a lie or a manipulation)
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To: Leftism is Mentally Deranged

Well, that and his ONLY chance of having this story stick is if the shotgun was an autoloader. If it's a pump, not a chance.

Either way, mighty fancy "accidental" shooting.


11 posted on 02/05/2007 2:59:55 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: kittymyrib
Yes, there have been never been any legal Polish immigrants to Minnesota so he must be an illegal.
12 posted on 02/05/2007 3:03:39 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (I am the Cat who Walks by Himself and all places are alike to me!)
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To: Leftism is Mentally Deranged
(This applies as well if it is undercover police breaking into the wrong home)

The evidence does not support your assertion, as nice as it would be if it were true...

13 posted on 02/05/2007 3:06:05 PM PST by coloradan (Failing to protect the liberties of your enemies establishes precedents that will reach to yourself.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
Kruger was accidentally shot during a struggle for the weapon. He also said the gun accidentally discharged and wounded Hilary Kruger and then went off again after he dropped it to flee, striking Alec.

The Rube Goldberg version of homocidal events.

FMCDH(BITS)

14 posted on 02/05/2007 3:07:31 PM PST by nothingnew (I fear for my Republic due to marxist influence in our government. Open eyes/see)
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To: All

Just heard an update on a local newscast. The critically injured mother has been able to talk to authorities from her hospital bed.

A press conference has just ended and her story is much different from the intruders. She says he pursued each of them with the gun..........


15 posted on 02/05/2007 3:07:34 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: kittymyrib
Two more murders may need to be added on the Illegal Alien Body Count. Currently, over 45,000 US citizens have been killed by acts of illegals since 9/11.

This guy looks pretty homegrown. Inbred and a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome, maybe, but homegrown...


16 posted on 02/05/2007 3:12:41 PM PST by Bubba Ho-Tep
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep
RE: Picture of "da perp".....

Looks like a Harvard man to me.

17 posted on 02/05/2007 3:20:47 PM PST by albee (Okay. so he missed aThe best thing you can do for the poor is.....not be one of them. - Eric Hoffer)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

better stake him down. he'll take off with those ears.


18 posted on 02/05/2007 3:21:22 PM PST by Rakkasan1 ((Illegal immigrants are just undocumented friends you haven't met yet!))
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

What a pantload. Could anybody (or, more relevantly, any 12 people) possibly believe that someone got stuck in a ditch, stole a nearby SUV to try to get his own car out, broke into the house where he found the SUV to get help, was confronted by a man armed with a shotgun, and managed to get control of the shotgun before "accidentally" murdering two people and seriously injuring a third? Even if one were to believe his story, he still committed a home invasion of an occupied dwelling at night, leading to the deaths of two people. This guy committed two felony murders plus attempted murder and should hang.


19 posted on 02/05/2007 3:27:10 PM PST by Turbopilot (iumop ap!sdn w,I 'aw dlaH)
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To: Turbopilot

That pretty much sums it up.

Except, no death penalty in this blue state....


20 posted on 02/05/2007 3:35:06 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
A press conference has just ended and her story is much different from the intruders. She says he pursued each of them with the gun..........

Cold, that is ice cold. That poor lady has now lost her husband and elder son because of a homicidal idiot that just decided to break in and kill them for unknown reasons that she and her family had nothing to do with.

21 posted on 02/05/2007 3:36:16 PM PST by xJones
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To: xJones

We still don't have any drug/alcohol info on this clown. But, at 3:30 AM, I'm going to assume a chemical influence.

This courageous woman is in real tough shape and fighting for her life. Let's all say a prayer for her survival. For her sake and the sake of her young son.


22 posted on 02/05/2007 3:40:29 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

Orange County Choppers?


23 posted on 02/05/2007 3:49:25 PM PST by RightResponse (It depends on what the defamation of Islam is .....)
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To: Rakkasan1

Them there ears are gonna be real useful for his cellmate, for a lot of years.......


24 posted on 02/05/2007 3:53:48 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: All

More on the latest update......

"Hilary Kruger, however, painted a different picture for police, according to the complaint.

She told an officer that her husband was shot by a tall, thin man with a long gun and that she told Alec to call police after her husband was shot upstairs. She said the shooter then went downstairs and then came back up again and shot her and Alec, the complaint said.

Another officer who responded to the 911 call found a shotgun leaning against an upstairs bedroom door and spent and unspent shotgun shells littering the floor at the top of the stairs. He found Alec dead in a bed while Hilary Kruger also lay on a bed, critically wounded. Tracy Kruger was found dead on an upstairs floor."

He's done like a dinner.


25 posted on 02/05/2007 4:01:34 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: Leftism is Mentally Deranged

.... but if he had fallen down and injured himself then he could have sued for more than what he might have gotten by robbery .....


26 posted on 02/05/2007 4:22:36 PM PST by SkyDancer ("Those That Would Rather Have Security Than Freedom Deserve Neither")
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
According to a criminal complaint, Zabawa told police that Tracy Kruger confronted him with a shotgun after he entered the Krugers' home and that Kruger was accidentally shot during a struggle for the weapon.

He also said the gun accidentally discharged and wounded Hilary Kruger and then went off again after he dropped it to flee, striking Alec.

Man, I've heard some BS stories before, but this is an epic amount of BS. Too bad MN doesn't have the death penalty.

27 posted on 02/05/2007 4:25:38 PM PST by Zeroisanumber (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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To: Zeroisanumber

See post 25.

This dog won't hunt.


28 posted on 02/05/2007 4:28:35 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep
...Inbred and a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome, maybe...

I will leave the inbred comment alone, but in today's PC fueled victimology, "fetal alcohol syndrome" has gotten more than one scumbag off a more aggressive charge because they were portrayed as a "victim" by a slick lawyer

Just asking: Does "fetal alcohol syndrome" have any medical data that makes one murder in cold blood three innocent people ?

29 posted on 02/05/2007 4:40:59 PM PST by Popman ("What I was doing wasn't living, it was dying. I really think God had better plans for me.")
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To: Popman
Just asking: Does "fetal alcohol syndrome" have any medical data that makes one murder in cold blood three innocent people

No idea, but it does create a certain facial appearance that this guy seems to share.

30 posted on 02/05/2007 4:45:06 PM PST by Bubba Ho-Tep
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
...during a struggle for the weapon.

The prime reason I don't recommend shotguns for home defense for most people (there are exceptions). This is much more likely to happen with a long gun than a handgun.

31 posted on 02/05/2007 5:48:41 PM PST by Northern Alliance
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To: Northern Alliance

Right you are. I have a gauge or two for continued action after the Glock is empty.

I posted this thread to point out the importance of the pending "stand your ground" legislation in MN. There is a need in this state for homeowners to be able to defend their families, without hesitation and without fear of legal prosecution.

I believe that this tragedy would have been avoided if state law was crystal clear and the father would have not hesitated. I do not blame him.

In my house, uninvited, at 03:30???

Dead. Period.


32 posted on 02/05/2007 6:04:24 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

What the hell difference does it make if its "accidental" or not, it is still homicide in the commission of a felony, capital murder.

What probably happened here is that he confessed to the "accidental" shooting when he was interviewed by detectives who intimated that an "accidental" murder was a good explanation that might get him off.

In other words, Mr. Zabawa was tricked into confessing to a capital crime. Maybe he'll give a fuller, more complete confession after consulting with his attorney. What the heck, he's already confessed and he's going to fry anyhow.


33 posted on 02/05/2007 6:13:50 PM PST by I_Like_Spam
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To: I_Like_Spam

See #25


34 posted on 02/05/2007 6:19:27 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily. Apply Sparingly.)
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To: martin_fierro
Seems to me the prosecution could've gone for two counts of Murder 1 under the Felony-Murder Rule.

I think they charged what they could prove right now due to time constraints. They can always amend the charges upwards later after they have time to get all the forensic reports and witness statements.

35 posted on 02/05/2007 8:53:33 PM PST by cryptical (Wretched excess is just barely enough.)
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To: albee
Looks like a Harvard man to me.

Bite your tongue. He's obviously a Yale man. ;-)


36 posted on 02/06/2007 7:39:12 AM PST by 300magnum (We know that if evil is not confronted, it gains in strength and audacity, and returns to strike us)
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To: 300magnum
"Looks like a Harvard man to me.

Bite your tongue. He's obviously a Yale man. ;-)"

Nah...if he were a Yale man, he'd be wearing blue, This perp is wearing orange-red.

37 posted on 02/06/2007 8:10:15 AM PST by albee (Okay. so he missed aThe best thing you can do for the poor is.....not be one of them. - Eric Hoffer)
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