Murder-Suicide Victims Were Lourdes H.S. Graduates

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Department has determined the deaths of two recent Lourdes High School graduates at a rural residence near Pine Island were the result of a murder-suicide.

18-year-old Kayla Koranda of Rochester and 19-year-old Nicholas Roecker were found fatally shot inside a heated barn at the young man’s home late Monday afternoon.  They were found by another member of the Roecker family around 4:30 p.m., and authorities were initially sent to the residence at 6948 100th street northwest in response to a medical call.  Officials say the extent of the pair’s relationship is still not known, but investigators believe they were just friends.  The young woman was a student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, while the young man attended college at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.  The investigation is ongoing, but officials are indicating they believe Roecker was responsible for the shootings.