Duluth Man Sentenced to 32 Years in Prison for Murder of St. Cloud Professor in June
On October 1, officials said Jason Beckman plead guilty and admitted the intentional homicide.
ST. CLOUD, Minn.- Authorities have sentenced a 45-year-old Duluth man to more than 32 years in prison, for the murder of Ed Ward, a longtime St. Cloud Professor with ties in Duluth, this past June.
According to the Stearns County Attorney’s Office, Jason Beckman of Duluth was sentenced to 386 months in prison Friday for intentional murder in the second degree.
On October 1, officials said Beckman plead guilty and admitted the intentional homicide.
(photo credit: Family of Ed Ward)
Following borrowing a car from an acquaintance in the Twin Ports, theft of another car, and an accident detailed in the criminal complaint, Beckman claimed he got lost and crashed his car in the neighborhood where Ward lived.
According to court documents, that’s when he knocked on the professor’s door for help and when he answered, Beckman said he thought he was the same man who had pointed a rifle at him earlier in the day and pulled out his handgun.
As Ward tried to slam the door, Beckman shot him twice before taking off and being arrested a short time later less than two miles away.
According to investigators, Ward screamed for his wife, Denese, who was sleeping at the time.
She tried calling 9-1-1 but the phone didn’t work, so she ran to the neighbors to call. All while she heard Ed screaming “get an ambulance, I’m dying.”
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Waite Park Police Department assisted in the investigation.
