Adam Sterling convicted, sentenced to life for murder of Leo Kohorst

Categories: Crime
homicide files graphic.jpg
Adam Sterling, the 24-year old man on trial for the murder of October 2010 murder of his landlord, Leo Kohorst, was convicted by a Hennpin County jury this morning of first- and second-degree murder. A couple hours later, the jury came back with a life sentence for the murder.

Sterling was found guilty for the brutal attack on Kohorst, his 22-year-old landlord, in which investigators determined Kohorst had been struck at least 22 times by a blunt instrument.

The fatal assault was the fallout of an ongoing dispute between Kohorst and Sterling, which stemmed in part from arguments over Sterling's repeated breaking of Kohorst's rules, including smoking in the house. Before he was murdered, Kohorst had threatened to evict Sterling, according to the complaint from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

The case garnered a bit of sensational coverage at its infancy, especially when it was revealed that Sterling sometimes dressed in drag.

As an example, in the Star Tribune's initial news story posted to its website, the headline read, "Murder charge: Mpls. man hit 22 times in head; cross-dressing suspect's clothes missing."

Among the key pieces of evidence which originally linked Sterling to Kohorst's murder were the specks of blood found on the high heeled shoes Sterling had worn earlier that day.

According to the complaint, the injuries to Kohorst's head were so extensive, investigators initially thought he had been "caused by a shotgun blast."

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Privacy Policy
Sign up for free stuff, news info & more!

Tools

Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places

    Voice Places

    Discover restaurants, nightlife, travel, shopping...

  • VOICE Daily Deals

    VOICE Daily Deals

    Get 50 to 90% off every day on restaurants, movies, massages...

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    More than 10,000 of the BEST things to eat, drink, and experience

  • My Voice Nation

    My Voice Nation

    Join the Village Voice community and get exclusive deals and info

  • Happy Hour

    Happy Hour

    Your local Happy Hour guide at your fingertips

or

Log in or Sign up

Social Connect:

Use your favorite account to access My Voice Nation.


Use your My Voice Nation account to log in:





Forgot password?
or

Sign Up or Log in

Social Connect:

Sign up for My Voice Nation with your preferred network.


Sign up for a My Voice Nation account:



Privacy policy