Gay St. Peter couple still searching for answers after receiving threatening, hateful letters
ST. PETER, Minn. (KMSP) - At least two gay couples from St. Peter have received letters addressed to their homes with discriminatory language towards their sexual orientation and death threats to their families.
Police are investigating both incidents but, so far, have not made any arrests.
Now, one of those couples are urging anyone with information about who is behind the hateful words to come forward.
For the first couple, the threatening letters started about a year ago. Then, in May, another gay couple in St. Peter received similar hate mail.
The women that spoke with Fox 9 Thursday say even though they’re fearful for their lives, they needed to speak out.
As Angie and Jaime Mace re-read letters addressed to their St. Peter home filled with hateful language and death threats to their young daughter, they hope their renewed efforts lead to an arrest.
“It’s very unsettling – our normal is gone and that’s all we want is our normal back,” said Angie Mace.
The couple first received the letters last august when they were sent through the mail. Upon inspection, authorities found no fingerprints or DNA on them.
The person behind the pen knew details about the couple and their daughter that were deeply disturbing.
“They threatened to torch our house, to kill our daughter,” said Angie Mace. “It’s ridiculous. Nobody said you had to like us. We don’t care if you approve of our lifestyle, that’s not what we’re asking. But holy cow, you threatened to kill children?”
After nearly a yearlong investigation and still no arrests, another gay couple in St. Peter received a similar letter in May.
Police are trying to figure out if the same person is behind the two incidents, but that’s when Jaime and Angie decided to take some action on their own.
The two started a GoFundMe site in hopes of raising a reward for someone to come forward with any information.
“I hope that people see it and maybe recognize some of the words that they used,” said Jaime Mace. “I think that they have a unique way of throwing their derogatory terms around.”
So far, they’ve raised more than $3,000 from friends and the community.
“We are putting that out there to find this person,” said Angie Mace. “It’s not money for us, it’s a reward.”
The couple says the letters filed with hate keep them up every night. They wonder who could do this and if the person lives in their neighborhood or far away.
They worry most about their young daughter but hope by taking a stance they can put a stop to it.
“We were quiet for a long time and now it’s time to be loud,” said Jaime Mace.
Police tell me these are two open cases and they are actively investigating them. If you have any information about who is behind this, you are asked to call St. Peter Police at 507-931-1550.
Here is the link to their GoFundMe page. (Note: the originally threatening letters are transcribed on the GoFundMe page and contain vulgar language)