Dismissal, venue change requested in murder case

The attorney for a Cloquet man facing both first- and second-degree murder charges will be asking the court to both dismiss the case and change the venue.

In an online hearing held Wednesday, June 9, defense attorney Steve Bergeson, assistant state public defender and a member of the Public Defender Trial Team, asked Sixth District judge Jill Eichenwald for a month to submit his arguments for dismissal and a change of venue in writing. Eichenwald granted that request, and a request by prosecutor Erin Eldridge for another month in which to respond. A motion to suppress statements made by Thompson was delayed, because the witness was having surgery and could not testify.

Sheldon Thompson, 34, is accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend and her young son. In total — and following grand jury proceedings last fall — Thompson faces eight charges: two charges of murder in the first degree; premeditated and murder in the first degree; domestic abuse for the deaths of Jackie Ann Defoe and her son Kevin Lee Shabaiash Jr .; and one charge of murder in the first degree of an unborn child, premeditated. He also faces charges of murder in the second degree-intent, and murder in the second degree of an unborn child-intent.

According to the criminal complaint, Fond du Lac police officers responded to a call for service on March 7, 2020, from someone who said they had spoken with Thompson the previous day, and said Thompson allegedly told them he had killed Jackie DeFoe and her son.

When Fond du Lac officers went to DeFoe’s residence on Locke Lane and knocked on the door, they did not get a response. They couldn’t see inside, but observed damage to the door.

After police received a search warrant to enter the home later that day, they found DeFoe in a closet with stab wounds. She had been 13 weeks pregnant. They found her son’s body in another bedroom, with observable bruising around the head. Both bodies were concealed under blankets and clothing and the doors had been screwed shut.

According to the criminal complaint, Thompson told people that he had killed DeFoe and her child.

The case has dragged on in the courts, in part because of the seriousness of the charges and the grand jury proceedings, and also because of the pandemic and its effect on how the court system operates.

On Wednesday, Judge Eichenwald gave defense attorney Bergeson until July 9 to submit his arguments in writing, and the prosecution until Aug. 6 to respond.