Minnesota Man Convicted of Murdering, Eating His Mother Claims Devil Possessed Him

SHERBURNE COUNTY, MN - The man convicted of butchering his mother in her bedroom and then eating her has claimed he was possessed by the devil.

Eric Leif Jordahl murdered his mother, Big Lake City Councilwoman Rosalie "Rose" Johnson, in a frenzied, unprovoked late-night attack at their home on July 23, 2020, the New York Post reported. Jordahl attacked his mother because she told him to go to bed.

He punched, stabbed, bit her, and ultimately killed her. His father, Andrew Jordahl, came home from work at 9:00 a.m. and found his son in the garage covered in blood. "The devil exists, it's in me, and I ate mom," the 26-year-old told his father, according to the criminal complaint.

Police found pieces of the 62-year-old woman's body tissue and a butcher's knife on the kitchen table. Police saw body parts throughout the house and found hair and body tissue on Jordahl's clothing, finding Johnson's body in her bedroom. She also had severe injuries to her face and head.

Jordahl said after his father went to work, he went into his mother's room and she told him to go back to bed. He then proceeded to bite her and began hitting her with his fists and a pan before retrieving a butcher knife from the kitchen. He then stabbed her repeatedly, KNSI Radio reported. 

He was charged with second-degree murder before being indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder charges. In 2021, he was found incompetent to stand trial, but prosecutors filed a notice of intent to prosecute when Jordahl regained competency in 2023. In 2024, his attorneys filed a notice of intent to assert a defense of not guilty by reason of mental illness.

This past January, Jordahl waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead for a bench trial where the judge decides both the guilt phase and the mental illness phase.

On Thursday, April 9, Jordahl was convicted of first-degree murder, and in the state of Minnesota, that conviction carries an automatic life sentence. Despite the conviction, Jordahl's lawyers are expected to argue in court on Monday, April 13, that he should be found not guilty due to mental illness. 

Johnson was first appointed to the Big Lake City Council in January 2019 and was also a member of the Big Lake Community Lake Association and the Big Lake School District's Community Education Advisory Board.

Family and friends dedicated a bench in Big Lake's Lakeside Park to memorialize her three months after the shocking murder. "It's the perfect memorial," Scott Zettervall, a fellow city council member, said. "It's a place for conversation, reflection, and relaxation."