Man charged for murder of 74-year-old Eden Prairie man

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A 23-year-old Le Sueur, Minn. man has been charged in the killing of a 74-year-old Eden Prairie man, who police found dead in his home.

Nathan Alan Foth was charged with murder in the second degree and faces up to 40 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, Eden Prairie Police went to a home on South Bay Curve to do a welfare check on a 74-year-old man on July 22.

Officers found the man covered in blood, laying on his bed. An autopsy revealed the man had died from two stab wounds to the neck.

The bathroom also appeared to have been cleaned with bleach. Crime scene tests showed the areas in the room tested positive for blood.

Family members told police they suspected the victim's grandson and his grandson's friend, Foth. Officers investigated the grandson, but through witness accounts and phone records they believed he was not involved in his grandfather's murder.

Investigators discovered the victim's van had been stolen and that the stolen van had been found abandoned in Draper, Utah on July 22. Forensic analysis on items found in the van matched Foth's DNA and fingerprints.

Police executed a search warrant at Foth's parents' home in Le Sueur and discovered Foth's mother had received a text message regarding her son on July 24. A woman in Utah had texted Foth's mother saying that her family had picked Foth up on a highway earlier that day, that Foth was ok and he was heading to California. The woman also sent a picture of Foth wearing an oversized gray, crew neck pocket T-shirt. When police searched the victim's house they found shirts that appeared to be identical to the one Foth was wearing.

Foth was arrested by police on Aug. 23, when police found out he was traveling by bus to Minnesota from Oregon.

He is currently in custody.