Not Guilty Pleas Entered For Nearly Fatal Rochester Hammer Attack
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Two years after he was charged with trying to kill his wife, a Rochester man has entered a not guilty plea to a first-degree attempted murder charge.
67-year-old Joseph Kinyanjui also entered not guilty pleas to a second-degree attempted murder charge and two counts of felony assault stemming from a hammer attack on his wife on May 8, 2019. The case was delayed because Kinyanjui was initially found to be incompetent to stand trial, but his case was reviewed late last year and a ruling issued in January cleared him for prosecution.
Kinyanjui is accused of repeatedly striking his wife on the head with a hammer in an attack that continued even after Rochester Police arrived at the couple's home. The criminal complaint says the officers ended up using their Tasers on him after he refused to stop swinging the hammer at the woman, who suffered life-threatening injuries.
A trial date for Kinyanjui has not been scheduled. He remains jailed on $500,000 conditional bail.
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