Crow Wing County Amber Alert: Man charged with murder, kidnapping

(FOX 9) - The suspect in a deadly shooting of a neighbor and the kidnapping of a pregnant mother and her four children that sparked an Amber Alert last week in central Minnesota is now facing charges.

What we know

Thirty-five-year-old Chad Aanerud was charged Monday with 12 separate counts including murder, kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct, arson, assault, and theft.

Aanerud was arrested early Friday morning following a shooting, arson and Amber Alert search. The criminal charges accuse Aanerud of fatally shooting his neighbor, 62-year-old Lyle Maske, before kidnapping his pregnant girlfriend and her four children in the early morning hours of Nov. 1.

The mother and children were rescued and Aanerud was arrested hours later following the Amber Alert.

Context

The charges reference multiple parties.

• The suspect: Chad Aanerud
• The shooting victim: Lyle Maske.
• The kidnapping victims: A pregnant mom identified only as NAD and her four children. FOX 9 is told the mother is Aanerud's girlfriend.
• Neighbor witnesses: Maske's wife and a woman identified as KLS who lived at the Maske home.

According to the charges, the pregnant mother, NAD, lived in a secondary dwelling on property that apparently belonged to the grandparents of NAD's kids. The grandfather's house was the home destroyed in the fire.

Timeline

The following timeline is based on the events detailed in the criminal complaint. It starts in the early morning hours of Friday, Nov. 1.

• On Oct. 31, around 9 p.m.: Aanerud gets into an argument with NAD, the pregnant mother.
• Aanerud demands the mother have sex with him. When she refuses, he gets a gun and threatens her children.
• After sexually assaulting the mother, Aanerud then begins pouring fuel on the grandparents' home.
• The mother wakes her kids up and tells them to run to the neighbor's home.
• The children go to Maske's home to ask for help. They tell Maske that Aanerud was stealing from their grandparent's home.
• Maske decides to go to the neighboring home to see what's going on.
• Maske is dropped off by KLS at the driveway to the neighboring property. She then returns to the Maske home.
• Maske confronts Aanerud and Aanerud shoots Maske.
• About 10 minutes later, Aanerud shows up at the Maske home with a rifle. The pregnant mother is in the front seat of Aanerud's vehicle.
• Aanerud demands the witness turn over "his kids", forcing his way into the Maske home and firing shots in the process. He also threatened to kill Maske's wife in the process, according to the charges.
• Aanerud ultimately forced the pregnant mother and her four kids to get into the vehicle and drove away.
• KLS returns to the neighboring home and finds Maske on the ground with a gunshot wound.
• Around 1:50 a.m., deputies responded to the report of the shooting. While trying to revive Maske, they notice a fire at the home belonging to the kidnapped children's grandparents. That home ends up burning to the ground.
• At 2:19 a.m., Maske is pronounced dead at the scene.
• The Amber Alert is issued during the morning hours.
• At about 7:20 a.m., the van Aanerud was driving was spotted in Little Falls, Minn. The mother and children are rescued and Aanerud is arrested.

After arrest

Speaking with investigators, the complaint states Aanerud admitted to shooting Maske but claimed it was an accident. But the charges quote Aanerud in saying that Maske "stuck his nose" where it didn't belong.

Deputies say Aanerud did admit to setting the grandparents' home on fire, claiming the homeowner's wife told him to stage a burglary and burn down the home for insurance money. However, the grandfather told deputies that he didn't have any insurance on the home.