Rochester Man Facing Manslaughter Charge for His Wife’s Death

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man is facing felony charges in connection to his wife’s death. 

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The Olmsted County Attorney's Office filed the charges on Tuesday. She is believed to have died in the Spring of 2023.

The criminal complaint says 73-year-old Scott Douglas Loven informed his wife’s pastor during a May 4, 2023 visit his wife had passed away. The pastor told police he had assumed Loven had handled his wife’s affairs and called the victim’s daughter a couple of days later. 

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According to the complaint, the daughter said she did not know about her mother’s death and asked the pastor to return to the house. The pastor went back to the home on May 8 and Loven again told him his wife had died but said he did not know when it happened because he had been drinking since her death. 

Rochester Police responded to the couple’s home on May 8 and found Loven’s wife’s body in a bathtub. The complaint details two interviews Loven had with investigators. 

Loven said his wife was in declining health and suffering from dementia and hearing and vision loss. He told police his wife, who used a walker to get around, was having gastrointestinal issues and that he helped her to the bathroom and later heard her call for help, the court document says. 

Loven told investigators then attempted to move his wife from the toilet to the bathtub but fell while moving her. At some point Loven’s wife fell into the bathtub, according to the charges. 

Loven stated she asked him to take her to the hospital but he refused his wife’s request, telling police he did not want to put her in the car and sit in a hospital waiting room, the complaint says. Loven also told police that at some point he knew his wife was dying. 

Investigators were unable to determine Loven’s wife's time of death despite interviewing her husband twice. Police did determine the home had a working landline phone and Loven admitted to not calling 911 or anyone to help his wife when she was stuck in the bathroom, according to the court document. 

An autopsy determined Loven’s wife died of “gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to prolonged immobility due to multiple blunt force injuries.” Her manner of death was described as homicide, the complaint says. 

Loven was charged Tuesday with a count of second-degree manslaughter and a count of criminal neglect. He’s due to make his first court appearance next month.

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