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The fatal stabbing of Jerome Abel, 58, in Crookston last Sunday night, allegedly at the hands of his son, 27-year-old Jacob Abel, has revived talk in and around Crookston of Jacob’s older brother, Joshua Abel, who went missing in April 2007 in Marshall County and hasn’t been seen since.
Specifically, Crookston Police Chief Tim Motherway told the Times today, people seem to be wondering if there’s any chance that Jacob, who’s accused of stabbing his father 24 times in a Broadway Apartments unit Feb. 5, had something to do with his older brother’s disappearance.
He didn’t, Motherway said.
Joshua Abel, 29 at the time, was reported missing on April 30, 2007. A Crookston resident, he was last seen on April 27. His vehicle was subsequently found with the keys in it on the family’s farmstead in northern Marshall County, near Stephen. Motherway said a single set of footprints was observed leading away from the vehicle. During the investigation, he said, a witness reported seeing Joshau in the area around that time, possibly with a firearm. Authorities conducted an extensive search of the area but found nothing.
Motherway said Crookston Police consulted with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at that time and did so again in the wake of Sunday’s homicide in Crookston, but that there remains no evidence to incicate that Jacob Abel had anything to do with his brother’s disappearance.
“There’s no evidence of foul play and there’s no suspicion of foul play,” Motherway said. “Jacob was interviewed back then, and he was cooperative. Other than the fact that they are brothers, there’s no other connection.”
Jacob Abel made his first court appearance in Crookston on Tuesday, but because of his erratic behavior since his arrest and in the courtroom and his history of mental health issues, proceedings were put on hold so he can undergo a mental competency evaluation at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter.
The fatal stabbing of Jerome Abel, 58, in Crookston last Sunday night, allegedly at the hands of his son, 27-year-old Jacob Abel, has revived talk in and around Crookston of Jacob’s older brother, Joshua Abel, who went missing in April 2007 in Marshall County and hasn’t been seen since.
Specifically, Crookston Police Chief Tim Motherway told the Times today, people seem to be wondering if there’s any chance that Jacob, who’s accused of stabbing his father 24 times in a Broadway Apartments unit Feb. 5, had something to do with his older brother’s disappearance.
He didn’t, Motherway said.
Joshua Abel, 29 at the time, was reported missing on April 30, 2007. A Crookston resident, he was last seen on April 27. His vehicle was subsequently found with the keys in it on the family’s farmstead in northern Marshall County, near Stephen. Motherway said a single set of footprints was observed leading away from the vehicle. During the investigation, he said, a witness reported seeing Joshau in the area around that time, possibly with a firearm. Authorities conducted an extensive search of the area but found nothing.
Motherway said Crookston Police consulted with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at that time and did so again in the wake of Sunday’s homicide in Crookston, but that there remains no evidence to incicate that Jacob Abel had anything to do with his brother’s disappearance.
“There’s no evidence of foul play and there’s no suspicion of foul play,” Motherway said. “Jacob was interviewed back then, and he was cooperative. Other than the fact that they are brothers, there’s no other connection.”
Jacob Abel made his first court appearance in Crookston on Tuesday, but because of his erratic behavior since his arrest and in the courtroom and his history of mental health issues, proceedings were put on hold so he can undergo a mental competency evaluation at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter.
