by April Scheinoha
Reporter
A Warren man pled guilty Friday, Dec. 22 to murdering his ex-wife after an argument at his home in 2022.
Anders Leland Odegaard, 32, pled guilty to a felony charge of second degree murder – without intent – while committing a felony. As part of the plea agreement, it is expected that another felony charge of second degree murder will be dismissed at sentencing. Sentencing has been set for Monday, Jan. 29.
During the plea hearing, Odegaard admitted that he punched Carissa Odegaard in the nose, breaking her nose and causing her to fall to the floor. He agreed that one of his sons said he had choked his ex-wife. Carissa Odegaard, 31.
On Aug. 23, 2022, after Odegaard’s sons flagged down a passerby to call 911, deputies found Carissa Odegaard unresponsive with visible injuries consistent with an assault. She had suffered severe head trauma, according to the complaint.
Carissa Odegaard, 31, was transported by ambulance to North Valley Health Center in Warren and then airlifted to Sanford Hospital in Fargo, N.D., where she was pronounced brain dead the following day. Life support was later removed, and her organs were donated.
The Odegaards had been scheduled to attend a family court hearing seven days after the murder. They had been divorced for nearly a year and shared five children. She had gone to her ex-husband’s home to pick up the children for church.
On Friday, Judge Corey Harbott asked the attorneys, Marshall County Attorney Don Aandal and Eric Gudmundson with the Public Defender’s Office, to describe for the victim’s family how they had reached the plea agreement.
The plea agreement calls for a 220-month prison sentence as part of an upward durational departure since a child was present at the time of the murder. The family sought a longer prison sentence. Carissa Odegaard’s sister, Anna Woinarowicz, told Harbott that some of the Odegaard children will still be in high school when their father is released from prison. She talked about their fear of him and how his youngest children may need to look over their shoulders as they’re walking to their car after school or while on a first date.
Outlining the reasons for the plea agreement, the attorneys noted the nature of the asphyxiation suffered by Carissa Odegaard. Aandal said Anders Odegaard was described as using a chokehold behind his ex-wife. The coroner informed him that a chokehold would most certainly be the cause of death. However, the coroner indicated it was probably accidental.
Gudmundson referred to a misconception that this was a textbook manual strangulation.
Besides that matter complicating the case, Aandal noted that he had spoken with the guardian ad litem and social worker in the Children in Need of Protection or Services case involving the Odegaard children. They told Aandal that, due to the trauma they have suffered, the children would be unable to testify either in person or remotely.
After hearing those comments and noting the court can’t be involved in plea negotiations, Harbott accepted the the plea agreement. “This is obviously incredibly difficult for everyone involved, and it was a horrible crime that was committed,” he said.
Harbott further noted there are some collateral consequences in the case since Anders Odegaard, an attorney, will be disbarred if he hasn’t already been disbarred and his parental rights will be terminated as well.
Past Alford plea
In July, Odegaard had initially entered an Alford plea to a felony charge of second degree murder – unintentional. In an Alford plea, a defendant doesn’t admit guilt, but the defendant admits that a jury would likely find the person guilty after being presented the evidence. A sentencing hearing was scheduled in August, but Harbott withdrew the Alford plea after learning that the victim’s family hadn’t been notified about the plea.
The victim’s family has since been notified about this plea, which was conducted as a traditional guilty plea.