MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Willmar man has pleaded guilty to a 79-year-old woman’s stabbing death, according to the Kandiyohi County Court.
On Wednesday, Brok Junkermeier specifically pleaded guilty to first-degree premeditated murder in connection to the late July 2013 incident.
On July 29, 2013, sheriff’s deputies found Lila Warwick dead in her home in Willmar. Investigators say she’d been strangled and stabbed.
Two days later, authorities arrested 19-year-old Junkermeier and a 16-year-old boy, later identified as Devon Jenkins. The following day, they arrested Warwick’s 17-year-old grandson, Robert.
The criminal complaint states Junkermeier broke into her home, early Monday morning, while Jenkins waited in the car. It details Junkermeier admitting to a friend that he cut Warwick with a sword-like knife and forced her to access her bank account on a computer. It also states he made her write out a $1,500 check.
It states he strangled Warwick — repeatedly stabbed her — and threw her body in the basement.
Jenkins previously pleaded guilty to being the “lookout” in the incident.
Junkermeier’s sentencing is set for April 9 at 9 a.m. He could face up to 40 years in prison.
