A Minnesota man has been convicted of the gruesome murder of his mom. Eric Leif Jordahl, 26, brutally dismembered his mother, 62-year-old Rosalie “Rose” Johnson in their home. Johnson was a Big Lake City Council member from January 2019 to the time of her death. When her son was found covered in her blood, he claimed another entity had driven him to not only kill his mother but to cannibalize her as well. When authorities arrived at the home, they found parts of her body and her blood all over, which must have been terrifying.
As a result of the killing and what he said, Jordahl’s defense team is trying to say he’s mentally ill and therefore not guilty.
The incident took place nearly six years ago.
Homicide investigation underway in Big Lake. Police say a caller told 911 this morning that “his adult son was at the home” and that the son said “he had just killed his mother.” A 20-year-old has been arrested and booked into Sherburne County Jail. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/EIQ2FjKe9Y
— Danny Spewak (@DannySpewak) July 23, 2020
Around 9 a.m. on July 23, 2020, Andrew Jordahl came home from work. When he opened his garage, he found his son jumping around and waving his arms. He appeared to be covered in blood, KNSI reported.
“The devil exists, it’s in me, and I ate Mom,” his son told him, according to multiple reports.
Andrew Jordahl raced into the home, where he found a jaw sitting on the kitchen counter. He called 911, telling the operator that his son had killed his mother.
Eric Jordahl admitted to police that he had hit and bitten his mother before he killed her.
What he did was truly horrific.
According to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com, police found blood, hair, and tissue on Eric Jordahl’s body. They also found the jaw and a bloody knife covered in hair. Brain matter was scattered around the home, and bloody footprints led a path to a basement bedroom where they found the body of Rose Johnson. Her scalp was lying against a wall.
Eric Jordahl told police he went into his mother’s room while she slept. She told him to go back to bed, and he began punching her in the head before using a fan “as a weapon.”
He then went upstairs to get a knife “because he intended to kill the victim,” and stabbed his mom, per Oxygen.com. Next, he “began to cut up and cannibalize the victim while she was still alive,” scalping her and eating part of her brain before severing her jaw.
He allegedly told police he had thought about hurting his mom previously but never to the extreme that he did.
The case has taken several years to prosecute.
Eric Jordahl was charged with second-degree murder before being indicted on first-degree murder charges by a grand jury, according to KNSI. In 2021, he was found incompetent to stand trial, which led to the case slowing down.
Prosecutors filed a notice saying they intended to prosecute once he was deemed competent to stand trial. This happened again in 2023 and 2024, KNSI reported. His attorneys then decided to claim he was not guilty of murder by reason of mental illness.
This turned the trial into two parts: one to decide if he was mentally ill and another to decide his guilt.
On April 9, 2026, Eric Jordahl was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. The second stage of his trial was expected to take place on April 13, when it would be decided if he’s not guilty because of mental illness.
If that happens, he will remain housed at the Forensic Mental Health Program, where he has been since he was classified as mentally ill and dangerous. If the judge disagrees with the defense, however, Eric Jordahl will go to prison.
