Supreme Court Declines Appeal in Rochester Attempted Murder Case

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St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Minnesota Supreme Court has declined to review the case of a Rochester man now serving a 20-year prison sentence for nearly killing his wife.

The decision means 68-year-old Joseph Kinjanjui has run out of appeals. The Minnesota Court of Appeals earlier upheld his conviction and sentence for the May 2019 crime.

An Olmsted County Jury found Kinjanjui guilty of first and second-degree attempted murder and first and second-degree assault charges at the end of a trial held in July of last year. Kinjanjui had been accused of bludgeoning his wife with a hammer in the family's home.

The criminal complaint says Kinjanjui was still striking his wife with a hammer when Rochester police officers arrived at the scene and used a Taser to subdue him. She was then rushed to St. Marys Hospital to be treated for what were described as life-threatening injuries.

In his appeal, Kinjanju tried to argue that he was denied a fair trial because the judge in the case allowed the jury to hear testimony about his previous abusive behavior toward his wife and other family members. The appeals court did find the judge made an error while instructing the jury, but also ruled that the error had no impact on the outcome of the trial.