Crime & Safety

Courts Commit Woodbury Man Who Wanted to be a Serial Killer to a Mental Hospital

Andrew Busskohl, 21, planned to kill a man and continued to have violent thoughts and violate his parole following a 2008 stalking/harassment conviction.

A would-be serial killer from Woodbury was committed to a mental hospital Friday after a Washington County District Court judge deemed he was a danger to himself and the public.

Andrew Busskohl, 21, was convicted of stalking and harassment in 2008 and watched closely by authorities after they learned of his elaborate plan to break into a stranger’s home and murder him, according to a release from Washington County.

Following a three-day trial, Washington County District Court Judge Greg Galler ordered Busskohl to be confined at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter.

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Court records indicate that Busskohl was partially inspired by the television show “Dexter,” a program about a serial killer who targets those who have escaped the law. When he couldn’t find a potential victim who fit that description, he chose someone else but was caught by police.

“Busskohl’s on-going behavior both before he was convicted and later while on probation clearly demonstrate that he poses a significant risk to community safety,” Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said in a statement. “Rather than wait until Mr. Busskohl acts out his criminal obsessions, we sought to have him civilly committed as mentally ill and dangerous to protect society and also to assure that he receives the psychiatric help he apparently needs.”

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When he was arrested on the stalking charges, police found a “murder kit” and detailed plans to break into a Woodbury man’s home and slit his throat or stab him while he slept, according to court documents. He went so far as to break a patio door window at a home with the intent to return later and kill the man.

The murder kit included swim cap, hospital scrubs, a mask, surgical gloves, tools, plastic bags, shoe covers, several knives, a scalpel and details about the target, among other items, according to court records. He also was found to have authored a document he entitled “My Life as a Serial Killer.”

Busskohl violated several conditions of his probation, including possessing knives and using marijuana, according to the release. In a third probation violation hearing, authorities found that Busskohl had an “airsoft” pistol, knives, gloves, a hooded sweatshirt, screwdrivers and razor blades. Later, probation officials discovered another eight-inch knife in Busskohl’s desk at school along with a night-vision scope and another knife in his home. Busskohl’s computer showed hundreds of searches about serial killers and their victims.

According to court records, Busskohl was beset by thoughts of murder and fantasized about being a serial killer. He planned to cut off his victim’s eyelids or cut out his or her heart as part of a plan to sensationalize the murder. Busskohl told a psychiatrist that he thought a segment of the public would be “on his side,” according to court documents.

In April, Busskhohl tried to get a job at Cutco, a company that sells knives, and later admitted to a therapist that he was thinking of killing a Woodbury couple, according to court documents.

 “The substantial likelihood that Mr. Busskohl poses a risk of future dangerousness to our community led us to seek his civil commitment. We hope that he receives proper psychiatric treatment,” Orput said in the statement.


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