Deputies: Roommate kills father and son before taking own life in northern Minnesota

(FOX 9) - A father, son and suspect are dead after a double murder-suicide early Saturday in northern Minnesota.

According to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office, at about 1 a.m. Saturday, authorities received a call from the suspect's father asking officers to check on his son, later identified as 31-year-old Cody Pirila, in Culver Township.

Supervising Deputy Wade Rasch told FOX 9 that Pirila's dad and sister met at the suspect's residence on the 9000 block of Eklund Rd before deputies got there. They found a dead man outside, and Pirila had already left the residence.

Then deputies arrived and found another body. The two bodies were later identified as 51-year-old father and 31-year-old son, Jamie and Skylar Hunter. Skylar was Pirila's roommate. His dad, Jamie, did not live at the residence, Supervising Deputy Rasch said.

As the investigation was underway, a patrolling deputy saw a white car near the scene that they thought could be Pirila, Deputy Rasch said. The deputy pursued the car for an investigative stop and as more squad cars came, the suspect called 911 and confessed to the murders. After authorities conducted a PIT maneuver, the car skidded into a ditch near Big Lake Road and Twin Lakes Drive. Then Pirila fatally shot himself. He was dead when deputies approached his car, according to Supervising Deputy Rasch.

The Pirila family told deputies that the suspect was struggling with mental health.

The sheriff's office said there's believed to be no further threat to the public. Anyone with information regarding his investigation is asked to call 911 or the SLC Sheriffs Office Investigative Division at 218-336-4350.