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Development looms today in case of man fatally beaten by Gagne

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: March 12, 2009 - 10:31 AM

A significant development is looming in the case of Verne Gagne, the Minnesota wrestling legend who has been implicated in the beating death of a 97-year-old man at the Bloomington care facility where the two men resided.

A news conference for 3 p.m. today has been called in downtown Minneapolis by Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. Representatives of the county medical examiner's office and Bloomington police also will be there to discuss the case.

Helmut Gutmann, 97, died Feb. 14 of complications from injuries inflicted by Gagne during the attack Jan. 26 at the memory-loss unit of Friendship Village. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Police have been investigating the death, and their report to the county attorney was expected this week.

Most observers think charges are unlikely because both Gagne, 82, and Gutmann had Alzheimer's disease, which affects judgment and memory.

A portion of the police report, revealed Tuesday in a search warrant obtained for taking photos and collecting records at Friendship Village, said that Gutmann died in an "unprovoked attack" during which he was "grabbed, shaken and thrown to the ground" by Gagne.

The warrant added that Gagne had assaulted fellow Friendship Village residents at least twice in five months before the altercation with Gutmann.

Gutmann, a widely respected scientist and musician, fled to the United States from Nazi Germany in 1936. His widow, Betty Gutmann, still lives at Friendship Village.

Gagne, who was born in Corcoran, wrestled for the former Robbinsdale High School and the University of Minnesota, where he was an NCAA champion. In 1949, he began wrestling professionally and established the Twin Cities as the nation's hub for the sport. He wrestled in and oversaw the American Wrestling Association.

Gagne played football for the Gophers in 1943, enlisted in the Marines and then returned to the U, where he was an All-America wrestler.