Savage man charged in fatal Bloomington stabbing

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 44-year-old man has been charged, accused of fatally stabbing a man and injuring his wife in their Bloomington home on Aug. 24. 

Adam Garrett Roring, of Savage, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder in the killing of 74-year-old Mark Novak and injuring his 72-year-old wife, who are relatives of his.  

According to the criminal complaint, police responded to a home on 105th Street West in Bloomington at 4:41 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2023, where officers saw a woman lying on the floor inside a home. As officers tried to get into the house, they heard noises in the basement and saw a window screen pushed out, with a man — later identified as Roring — emerge from the window. 

Roring fled on foot but then was taken into custody, charges said. He appeared to have a blood-like substance on his jacket and pants, as well as the gloves he was carrying. With him, he had a metal bar and a partial nunchuck that also appeared to have blood on them.

When Roring was booked into jail, officers found he had injuries on his chest, back and knees.

When police got inside the home, they found Novak upstairs in the home and his wife in the living room. Novak had a severe laceration to his throat and other injuries. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. 

Novak's wife had extensive injuries to her head and face. She was also taken to the hospital with her injuries, where she is in critical but stable condition, charges state. 

She told police she and Novak were woken up by a man who kept beating them with an unknown object. They were able to get out of bed, but then Novak was attacked in the bedroom. She escaped and was pushed down the stairs. She found her cellphone and called 911. 

She identified their attacker as Roring, who is a relative. 

A search warrant of the home found a large chef knife in the kitchen with a blood-like substance around the sink. Blood-like substances were also found throughout the home, which is consistent with the wife's account of the assault. Police also found metal links, which are possibly associated with the partial nunchuck discovered on Roring's person when he was arrested. 

Roring told police he went to the Novak's home with the intent of returning a house key but when he arrived, he discovered an intruder already in the home. He claimed the intruder had nunchucks and a chain, and he struggled with the intruder and got the weapons before the intruder escaped out the door. He says he then checked on the wife and fled out the window.