Kids Run To Stranger For Help As Father Brutally Assaults Mother, Causing Her Death

An attorney was charged with second-degree murder after he beat up his ex-wife in front of their five children in his Minnesota home.

Two of the kids ran outside and flagged down a stranger for help asking them to call 911, leading to the victim being hospitalized and eventually passing away.

Carissa Odegaard, 31, was at the house of her ex-husband, Anders Odegaard, 31, when an argument broke out between them and led to the fatal attack Tuesday, in Warren.

The divorced couple's five children were at Anders' house at the time, and Carissa had arrived to pick them up for church, KARE 11 reported.

The children, aged between 2 and 9, told cops that Carissa and Anders got into a "big fight" before the struggle ensued. Anders "started choking" their mother, who asked them to "call 911."

Carissa was holding their 2-year-old son while Anders allegedly beat her up.

The criminal complaint said two of the boys ran outside the house at some point to get help. They stopped a stranger and said that "their mom was bleeding really bad and needed help."

Deputies responded to the passerby's 911 call reporting a domestic dispute. Upon arrival, cops found blood pooling on the floor as Carissa lay in the front doorway. They also found Anders wearing only boxer-style briefs with blood in his left eyebrow and hair, Valley News Live reported.

When the cops asked him what happened, Anders responded, "I don't feel right."

Carissa was rushed to Sanford Hospital in Fargo, North Dakota, and was pronounced brain dead Wednesday.

Her grandfather reportedly said she later passed away from her injuries.

"She was the world's sweetest person and an amazing mom. She didn't deserve for this to happen to her," a friend of the slain woman told Valley News Live.

The victim's 9-year-old son told investigators that they had seen their father hit their mother in the past as well. The boy told deputies he believes their father took a knife or spatula in his hand and struck their mother in the events that led to her death.

Another boy, aged 8, told investigators that he saw his father holding a spatula that he might have used to hit his mother. He added that he watched on as Anders choked her.

The couple had separated two years ago after 10 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in October 2021. The parents were given joint custody, but Carissa was granted sole physical custody of their five children.

Anders was charged in Marshall County Court with one count of second-degree murder for Carissa's death.