Deshaun Hill murder: Retrial delayed as prosecutors take fight over 'critical' interview to MN Supreme Court
Deshaun Hill killing: No 2nd trial date not set
A second trial date for Cody Fohrenkam, accused of killing high school student Deshaun Hill, is not yet been set despite a hearing today, after the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed his first conviction, saying that the prosecutors "committed prejudicial misconduct during arguments" and that the state failed to show Fohrenkam’s statements were lawfully obtained. FOX 9’s Rob Olson has the latest.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is taking its fight over a "critical" piece of evidence in a high-profile murder retrial to the state’s highest court. Prosecutors have filed an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court over a post-Miranda police interrogation video recorded during the investigation into the 2022 murder of Minneapolis North High School star student-athlete Deshaun Hill, Junior.
The interrogation of suspect Cody Fohrenkam in police custody has been at the center of a courtroom battle for more than a year. It was shown to jurors in Fohrenkam’s first murder trial where a jury quickly convicted him on second-degree murder charges. But the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled the interview was obtained illegally by violating Fohrenkam’s constitutional rights and ordered a new trial without the video recording.
Appeals court says police interview illegally obtained
The backstory:
Hill, a standout student-athlete at Minneapolis North High School, was shot and killed by a lone gunman on Feb. 9, 2022. Neighborhood surveillance video captured Hill, in a walking boot from a prior injury, brushing past the shooter several blocks from the North High campus in the middle of the day.
At the time, authorities said the two were close enough to "possibly brush shoulders." The shooter then appeared to pause, turn and fire three shots before running away. Fohrenkam was subsequently arrested, charged, and convicted of Hill’s murder. The trial judge called Fohrenkam's actions "senseless" before sentencing him to 38.5 years in prison.
Conviction overturned:
But last year, the Minnesota Court of Appeals tossed out Fohrenkam’s conviction after finding his constitutional rights were violated at trial, in part because of the prosecution’s use of a videotaped police interview conducted by detectives in the days following the slaying.
The Court of Appeals found Fohrenkam was illegally detained on a separate matter by authorities in Carlton County, who continued to hold him until Minneapolis investigators could arrive and question him about the deadly shooting. The jury watched the full 19-minute interrogation during the trial before taking less than an hour to convict.
The court ruled, in part, "the state has failed to satisfy its burden of showing that Fohrenkam’s continued detention was lawful. And because Fohrenkam made his incriminating statements during this period of continued detention—which the state never justified by presenting evidence explaining the basis for such conduct—Fohrenkam’s statements must be suppressed as the product of an unlawful seizure."
Once his statements were deemed inadmissible, the Court of Appeals found the now 33-year-old was entitled to a new trial.
Prosecutors fight for evidence
Big picture view:
Despite that Court of Appeals ruling, lead prosecutor Dan Allard still wants to use the videotaped interrogation at Fohrenkam’s upcoming retrial on the same murder charges. Allard believes the state can establish Fohrenkam was legally held in custody leading up to his MPD interview and has provided the court with a sworn affidavit from one of the detectives who questioned Fohrenkam in Carlton County.
Fohrenkam’s legal team argues, though, that the police interview should not be allowed to be shown to a second jury. And Hennepin County District Court Judge Julie Allyn has agreed.
Allard’s efforts to have Judge Allyn and the Appeals Court reconsider the matter have failed. And now, his office is asking the Supreme Court to weigh in. In one filing, writing, "(the) post-Miranda interview has a critical impact on the State’s ability to prosecute (Fohrenkam) for murder."
Prosecutors add the video is needed at trial to impeach the defendant as the interview captures Fohrenkam changing his story and alibi while being questioned. The state also wants to use the video to identify Fohrenkam as the shooter seen on neighborhood surveillance camera footage. They wrote that, if the police interview is kept out at trial, it "significantly reduces the likelihood of a successful prosecution."
Waiting on Supreme Court, trial moved to 2026
What's next:
Fohrenkam’s retrial, which has already been delayed months, was set to begin with jury selection next week. But Judge Allyn has put the case on hold while the Supreme Court decides whether to take up the appeals issue. For now, she has scheduled the trial to begin on February 2, 2026.