Hastings strangling charge upped to 1st-degree murder. Pattern of domestic abuse, premeditation alleged.

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
·1 min read

A grand jury has indicted a man for first-degree murder, alleging a pattern of domestic abuse and premeditation in the killing of his 36-year-old girlfriend in Hastings.

The Dakota County attorney’s office previously charged Kyle Steven Williams, 34, with second-degree murder in the death of Kelly Jo Marie Kocurek. She was found unresponsive, bloody and bruised May 18, 2021, in a room at Coratel Inn and Suites on Vermillion and 25th streets. She was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul and was in a coma before dying May 23, 2021, according to a criminal complaint filed against Williams.

Williams told Hastings police officers that Kocurek strangled herself with a cord, but an autopsy determined her manner of death was homicide. She was also found with numerous traumatic head injuries attributed to physical assault, including bruises on her face, head and ear, in addition to fractures on both sides of her jaw.

The Dakota County attorney’s office announced Monday that a grand jury indicted Williams for the more serious, first-degree charges. The defense previously notified the prosecution of intent to assert a mental illness or cognitive impairment defense, according to a court document.

Williams’ attorney declined comment Monday.

Kocurek grew up in Hastings, graduated from Hastings High School in 2000 and was the mother of two daughters. She’d been living in Red Wing.

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