Plymouth man already imprisoned for shooting girlfriend in 2022 now charged with her murder

A man who is already in prison for shooting his girlfriend on Black Friday in 2022 and fleeing to Wisconsin is now charged with her murder.

Austin Robert LeClaire, now 30 years old, pleaded guilty to attempted murder of his girlfriend and was sentenced to 18 years in prison back in 2023. However, court documents filed Monday state that LeClaire’s former girlfriend, who had been critically injured in the shooting, died this year.

RELATED: Plymouth man sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempted murder on Black Friday

Now, prosecutors are charging LeClaire with her murder, which is punishable by up to 40 years in prison.

“While there is no Minnesota Supreme Court or Court of Appeals decision directly on point, it is clear Minnesota statutory and case law does not prohibit prosecuting Defendant for completed murder despite his plea to attempted murder, as the facts necessary to proving completed murder had not occurred at the time of Defendant’s plea or sentencing,” prosecutors wrote in the charging documents.

The criminal complaint notes that after the shooting, the victim’s life “was truly hellacious, requiring round-the-clock care, intesive rehab, and numerous medical procedures. After autopsy, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner determined that Victim died from complications resulting from the gunshot wound to her head inflicted by Defendant.”

RELATED: Charges: Plymouth man allegedly shot girlfriend after birthday party, fled to Wisconsin

Plymouth police found the victim, 23 at the time, unresponsive in the garage of a home on 40th Place North after responding to a reported shooting on Nov. 25, 2022. LeClaire was on the phone with a neighbor at the time and told police he was on the way home from work and roughly 20 minutes away, court documents state. After an hour, he still hadn’t arrived and police learned his cellphone location data showed he was in Wisconsin. He was arrested by deputies a short time later.

Another person later told investigators that he was at LeClaire’s home for a birthday party earlier in the day and LeClaire was arguing with the victim. After the man left, he said LeClaire called him and said his gun went off and shot the victim. He then left, saying he was scared, disassembled the gun and threw it out of his vehicle near a river, a complaint states.

LeClaire remains in prison in Faribault, and his first court appearance on the newest charge hasn’t yet been set.
The post Plymouth man already imprisoned for shooting girlfriend in 2022 now charged with her murder first appeared on KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News.