Man found dead after apparently breaking clutch on stolen car
WINDOM, Minn. (AP) -- Alberto Samilpa Jr. had been burned, stabbed, and shot four or five times in the head when police found his body next to a burning Porsche. On Wednesday, authorities said it appears he was part of a group of men who stole the sports car, guns and jewelry from a Mankato home over the weekend and then turned on Samilpa when he broke the Porsche's clutch.
Cottonwood County prosecutors charged Hans Hottel, 20, of Mankato, with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding an offender after the fact. His bail was set at $300,000 at a court appearance Wednesday.
Sheriff Jason Purrington told the Cottonwood County Citizen that more suspects were being sought.
Hottel's roommates told investigators that Samilpa, 20, broke the clutch on the Porsche, which was reported stolen Saturday along with a Lincoln Navigator, guns and jewelry from a residence near Mankato. The roommates also said the people with Samilpa shot him, according to the county attorney's office.
His body was found on Monday. A burning Lincoln Navigator was found early Monday in a rural area of neighboring Watonwan County, the Cottonwood County Attorney's Office said.
An autopsy showed Samilpa had been shot four or five times in the head and stabbed in the neck. A butterfly knife was found at the scene next to his body, authorities said.
Hottel appeared to have blood on his tennis shoes and clothing when he was arrested in Mankato Tuesday, the county attorney's office said. His name came up after the stolen vehicles were seen at a gas station in St. James Sunday night. Police in St. James found that the gas was partially paid for by Hottel's credit card, and investigators identified Hottel in surveillance video from the gas station, authorities said.
