by April Scheinoha
Reporter
A Pennington County grand jury has indicted a Thief River Falls man for felony first degree murder for the death of a Thief River Falls woman found dead after a duplex fire Wednesday, March 27.
The grand jury also indicted Devon James Pulczinski, 23, on felony offenses of second degree murder and first degree arson. Pulczinski formally appeared on the charges Thursday, June 27 in Pennington County District Court. Bond remains $10 million with no conditions and $1 million with conditions. His next court appearance is scheduled Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Pulczinski is accused of murdering Alexandra Jo Ellingson, 23. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause and manner of death as homicide by asphyxiation.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension indicated that Ellingson’s body was found after Thief River Falls firefighters extinguished the fire at 307-1/2 Arnold Ave. S. in Thief River Falls. Her body was found in the kitchen of the upper level apartment, according to the complaint. Ellingson was found face down with extensive burns to the back of her body. A power cord was around Ellingson’s neck. Her hands and feet were bound, and fabric covered her head. A towel was found near Ellingson’s backside. It had presumptive positive test result for ignitable liquids.
The fire investigator believed the fire was set in two locations – the kitchen and the living room. The former spot was around and on top of Ellingson’s body. She determined that “no accidental ignition sources were present” and the fire was “incendiary based.”
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The grand jury met for three days at the Justice Center, hearing testimony from witnesses. Grand juries decide whether a first degree murder charge should be filed against an individual in Minnesota. If convicted, the penalty is life imprisonment. Grand juries meet in private, and their court files are private.
In March, Pulczinski was initially charged with felony offenses of second degree murder and first degree arson. This indictment replaces that complaint.
During the court hearing Thursday, both attorneys agreed that conditions would remain the same. Pulczinski was also ordered to have no contact with various individuals as listed at the time he initially appeared in court in March. Additional individuals were added to that list Thursday. Judge Tamara Yon ordered that Pulczinski is not allowed to have contact with Ellingson’s mom, Pulczinski’s former landlord, Pulczinski’s former downstairs neighbor and five other individuals.
About 30 people attended Thursday’s court hearing. Members of both parties’ families attended and were instructed to sit on opposite sides of the courtroom. At least eight law enforcement officers attended the hearing. The Northern Watch was the only media outlet present.
What led to the initial charges
The charges stemmed from a report of a fire at the duplex at 5:37 p.m. March 27. Flames were shooting out of the upstairs windows when firefighters arrived. The lower level sustained water and smoke damage. The fire gutted the top floor of the duplex.
Law enforcement located Pulczinski, who rented the apartment, about four hours after the fire. A man, who was aware that police wanted to question Pulczinski, had informed police that Pulczinski had asked him for a ride. He said Pulczinski “seemed desperate and was trying to find a ride to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.” The man offered to pick up Pulczinski and later notified police about their location, according to the complaint. A short time later, with their guns drawn, law enforcement stopped the vehicle in the 100 block of Eighth St. E. Without being questioned by police, Pulczinski allegedly said, “They had nothing to do with it. It was all me.”
Ellingson’s grandmother had dropped her off at the apartment earlier that day. She told police that she had dropped Ellingson off at 4:22 p.m. to visit with Pulczinski. She returned about eight minutes later after running an errand. She texted Ellingson and received a text back from the phone. However, she tried to call Ellingson, but her granddaughter didn’t answer. The woman remained outside of the apartment for about an hour, when she saw smoke coming out of the home.
A downstairs tenant allegedly told police that he heard arguing in the upstairs apartment earlier that day. However, he hadn’t heard anything else since that time.
A friend said Pulczinski called him, asking to come over to his home at around 5 p.m. March 27 to talk since Pulczinski was supposed to enter treatment. Pulczinski arrived a short time later and asked if the man and a woman could give him a ride back to his apartment. He recalled that Pulczinski grabbed a lever action rifle that the man was storing at his home on behalf of Pulczinski. Earlier, someone had stolen the rifle and a third man had returned it to Pulczinski.
They drove Pulczinski back to the apartment. He exited the vehicle with the rifle wrapped in a blanket. The man said Pulczinski appeared to be in a hurry. Law enforcement later found an unloaded Ruger .22-caliber lever action rifle wrapped in a blanket. It was in the box of Pulczinski’s pickup truck. In the backseat were a bag containing about 16 swords, several dozen knives, several hatchets and a rifle scope, among other items.
Shortly before the fire, a witness had seen the couple’s vehicle near the home. A nearby surveillance camera corroborated his statement.
The man and woman later dropped Pulczinski off near Biff’s Kitchen. Along the way, Pulczinski allegedly asked to borrow the man’s phone because Pulczinski said he needed to get rid of his own phone. The man recalled that Pulczinski was “acting really strange and different like something bad just happened.”
On that day, the police juvenile investigator also went through text messages from jail-issued cell phones. He found a conversation between Pulczinski and his roommate, James Shaugabay, who was in jail on a drug charge. (Five days before the fire, a search warrant was executed at the apartment, and Shaugabay was one of the people charged.) The conversation started a day before the fire. During the conversation, Pulczinski allegedly texted that he would take care of the charge for Shaugabay. Around 3:12 p.m. March 27, the following day, Pulczinski allegedly texted that he was going to find a way to get Shaugabay out of jail and he would have to hide because law enforcement would be looking for him.