A second mother of a teen convicted in the assault of a Blue Earth Area football teammate during a drinking party at a Winnebago house in October 2017 has been charged.
According to documents filed in Faribault County District Court, Renee Lee Nagel, 47, of Blue Earth faces felony counts of aiding an offender; aiding an offender obstructing an investigation; conspiracy to aid an offender; and conspiracy to obstruct an investigation or prosecution.
The charges allege that Nagel and fellow mother Shawna Barnett knew about the assault committed by their sons and two other teens and conspired to cover it up.
Subpoenaed text messages are cited as evidence, according to the court complaint, and a cellphone belonging to Barnett’s son disappeared before authorities could view a video of the assault.
Nagel and Barnett “consulted each other and third parties about the assaults and worked to eliminate the risk of conviction for their sons and others,” says the complaint.
“This was done by encouraging their sons to deny the assaultive actions, to coordinate their stories and by seeking to avoid the discovery of video and photographic evidence that they both knew to exist,” according to the complaint.
Barnett, 47, of Des Moines, Iowa, was charged with the same charges last month and her first court appearance scheduled for Oct. 8 has been canceled.
Her attorney, Patrick Casey of Mankato, is seeking to have the charges dropped arguing in a court document that the filing of charges nearly three years after the assault violates Barnett’s right to a speedy trial. The statute of limitations for most crimes is three years in Minnesota.
Nagel’s first court hearing is scheduled to be held Oct. 21.