Star Tribune
Woman found dead in North Loop home complained of many assaults by boyfriend
The woman found dead in her North Loop apartment under what police are calling suspicious circumstances had made multiple calls to Minneapolis police over the past 18 months in which she said she was the victim of assaults by her boyfriend.
Police records obtained this week by the Star Tribune show that Allison J. Lussier complained to officers at least six times in the past 18 months that she was the target of sometimes especially violent domestic assaults before she was discovered Feb. 22 in her unit in the Cameron Historic Flats in the 700 block of N. 4th Street.
When asked Tuesday about progress in the case toward making an arrest, police spokesman Aaron Rose said, “This is an open and active suspicious death investigation. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has not yet announced the determination of cause and manner of death. A toxicology report is currently pending.”
In each suspected assault, police interviewed Lussier and filed a report, which in some cases included photos of her injuries. Officers at least three times urged her to reach out to Cornerstone, a nonprofit that provides support and safety to domestic abuse victims.
In three of the assaults reported by Lussier, police records identify by name her on-again off-again boyfriend as the suspected perpetrator, department records show. One of the reports, this one taken by Metro Transit police, alleges the assault was carried out by an ex-boyfriend at a bus stop at N. Washington Avenue and West Broadway. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
The first of the reported attacks occurred in July 2022 at her apartment, where the man became angry about a phone call that Lussier received, then grabbed her by the hair, tied her up in the bathroom and kicked her in the chest.
In November 2022, she reported to police that the man made her strip before he beat her, threatened to disfigure her face with a razor blade, and then kill her and throw her body in the river.
She petitioned a court days later for an order for protection from the man, explaining, “I have a black eye [and] multiple bruises through my body up and down from head to toe. … He’s always been abusive.”
However, Lussier went back to the court about a week later and had the petition dismissed. The court record does not reveal why she changed her mind.
Domestic violence in Minnesota involving intimate partners claimed at least 36 lives in 2023, according to Violence Free Minnesota, which has been tracking this data since 1989.
Artika C. Roller, Cornerstone’s executive director, said Tuesday that “as first responders, police officers play a critical role in preventing the cycle of abuse and saving lives. Training officers to respond effectively, assess risk, and connect victims with support services is essential for victim’s safety.”
Roller added that another crucial factor in combating deaths from domestic violence is police the need for police to build and maintain strong partnerships with other segments of the community.
“We face significant challenges when it comes to addressing abusive relationships from turning fatal,” she said. “Addressing abusive relationships requires a multifaceted approach involving law enforcement, community support and victim services.”
On Saturday, dozens of people carried out a “Justice March” down Washington Avenue from Lussier’s apartment building to the Police Department’s downtown precinct headquarters and chanted “We want answers, we want justice” about why Lussier is dead after so many domestic assault reports.
The participants included Native Americans who walked to the beat of a drum and dressed in traditional garb. Her son, Joshua Hanks, said in an online fundraising campaign that his mother was raised in south Minneapolis, “but we as a family want her to be laid to rest on our reservation in Red Lake.”
Amber Schindeldecker, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Public Safety, said her agency’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office “is providing support and resources for the family of Allison Lussier.”
Anyone who is in an abusive relationship or knows someone who is can contact the Day One Hotline by calling 866-223-1111 or texting 612-399-9995.
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
Sgt. Gordon Blackey, once a security guard to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, allegedly admitted to tracking the woman’s movements in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
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Minnesota corrections officials are investigating after an inmate was found dead at the state prison in Moose Lake.
The 37-year-old’s cellmate found the man unresponsive in their room about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, according to a news release Wednesday from the Corrections Department. Staffers immediately started life-saving efforts, but those efforts failed.
The department’s Office of Special Investigations is looking into the death, with help from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. The inmate’s identity was being withheld until notification of family.
