CHARGES: Man Kills Sister in Chanhassen Home; Hundreds of Rounds Fired
A 21-year-old man has been charged with 2nd-degree murder after allegedly shooting and killing his adult sister in their family’s Chanhassen home Saturday afternoon.
Joseph Thomas Ness is accused of firing hundreds of rounds from AR-15 and AK-47 rifles inside before he fled the scene and his 25-year-old sister was found dead by officers who cleared the home.
Authorities were first called just after 2:20 p.m. on May 8 to the home on the 3700 block of Landings Drive. Ness left the home after the shots were fired and approached a neighbor about 40 minutes later, telling them he shot his sister and wanted to surrender to police, according to a criminal complaint.
In emergency dispatch audio of the incident, authorities can be heard searching for Ness throughout the neighborhood before he eventually surrendered unarmed.
"Please help me. I need you to call the police for me. I just killed my sister. I want to surrender peacefully. I am unarmed," Ness allegedly told the neighbor about a half-mile from the home where the shooting took place.
The victim was identified Tuesday as Noelle Ness, 25. No motive was given for the killing in the charging documents.
Officers searched the home and found Noelle dead inside, with hundreds of spent rifle casings, bullet holes in the walls and shattered windows from the gunfire. The criminal complaint says that six rifles, ammunition and high-capacity magazines were sized from inside the home.
Authorities said Joseph Ness had shot from his bedroom into his sister's bedroom across the hallway and continued to shoot at closer range. Twelve spent rifle casings were recovered from near her bed.
Ness made his initial court appearance on the charge Tuesday, with bail being set at $1 million with conditions and a next court appearance set for May 21. As of Tuesday afternoon, Ness was still being held at the Carver County Jail on the 2nd-degree murder charge.