January 27, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. — No motive has been determined in the murder-suicide deaths of a Minnesota National Guard soldier and his wife, authorities said Thursday.
The bodies of Kalen Pohjonen and his wife Katherine were found in their Vadnais Heights townhouse on Tuesday morning. Authorities found a handgun next to Kalen Pohjonen's body and said he shot her before shooting himself.
"No notes were left. Unfortunately, whatever happened to this young couple kind of remains with them," said Randy Gustafson, a spokesman for the Ramsey County Sheriff's office.
Kalen Pohjonen was 21, and Katherine would have turned 20 years old on Thursday.
Minnesota National Guard Lt. Col. Kevin Olson said Pohjonen was a member of the East St. Paul-based B Company, 1st Battalion, 194th Armor Regiment and was scheduled to deploy to Kuwait in May. He enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard on Aug. 21, 2007, but hadn't deployed with the Guard before, Olson said.
Gustafson said the Ramsey County Medical Examiner is still trying to determine the exact time of death.
Sheriff's deputies entered the home on Tuesday, after Katherine Pahjonen's co-workers reported she hadn't showed up for work in several days.
Gustafson said authorities waited until Wednesday to release details about the incident so that they could notify family members.
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