Bloomington man charged with killing wife

A Bloomington man was charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his wife, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Tuesday.

John Lawler, 56, was charged with the single count Tuesday and is expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday. Prosecutors are seeking bail of $1 million.

According to the criminal complaint, just before 6 p.m. Sunday, Lawler and his wife returned to their townhome. She told her adult son, who was at the house, that Lawler had picked her up from work and they weren’t getting along.

Not long after that, she went into the basement of the townhouse and listened to music with a younger son until he went to sleep about 10 pm. She continued to listen to music until about 11 p.m. when the adult son heard the music turn off and then shouting between his mother and Lawler, the complaint states.

The adult son went to the kitchen and found his mother covered in blood, lying on the floor with Lawler on top of her. The son called 911, but police and paramedics were unable to revive her and she was pronounced dead at 11:19 p.m., according to the complaint. The autopsy found she had been stabbed four times on her left front, side and back. She also had defensive wounds to her hands.

Lawler Criminal complaint (PDF)