Apr 17, 2015

Created: 04/17/2015 11:53 AM KSTP.com By: Jennie Olson A Stillwater man has been charged with second-degree intentional murder in the death of an Oak Park Heights man. The Washington County Attorney’s Office says 24-year-old Nathan Nigel Anthony Eldredge was charged Thursday in the death of 39-year-old Nils Johnson. He was arrested by authorities in Matteson, Illinois. The Washington County Attorney’s Office is now preparing to extradite Eldredge from Illinois if necessary. According to Oak Park Heights Police Chief Brian DeRosier, officers visited the multi-unit residence on the 14600 block of 62nd Street on Sunday after receiving a call for a welfare check because family members had been unable to reach Johnson. His mother, Diane Johnson, said he worked part-time due to a mental illness. "He would call me every day," she said. "When I didn't hear from him, I knew something was wrong. " At first, police were unable to find Nils Johnson at the residence and began a missing person investigation. On Sunday, investigators say a man and a woman who had keys to Johnson's truck and residence were found inside his home. Police say Nils Johnson was not there, but they did not suspect foul play. Officers then returned to the residence early Tuesday morning, at which point they found his body. "It's unspeakably evil that a person he took into his apartment and befriended apparently assaulted him," Diane Johnson said. The Oak Park Heights Police Department is investigating the death along with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The BCA is assisting in a suspicious death investigation in Oak Park Heights Photo: KSTP-TV/ Adam Stevens