Police: Man Offers Golf Cart for Murder of Ex's New Lover

A Kenyon man already charged with beating his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend in January with a flashlight has now been charged with trying to arrange for an acquaintance to kill the man in exchange for a used golf cart and his father’s all-terrain vehicle.

Jesse Allen Helgeson, 26, is charged in Rice County with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, a felony with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Helgeson, who was arrested Monday in rural Northfield, remained in the Rice County Jail on Wednesday.

Rice County Judge John T. Cajacob set Helgeson’s bail at $500,000 unsecured or $250,000 with conditions, including that he have no contact with his ex-girlfriend—the mother of his 2-year-old son—or the victim.

According to the criminal complaint, a “concerned citizen” contacted Kenyon Police Chief Lee Sjolander on May 9 and said Helgeson had contacted him via text message, telling him that he wanted his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend killed and asking for help getting it accomplished.

The complaint includes the transcripts of several text-message exchanges between Helgeson and the informant, who was described Wednesday by Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn as an acquaintance of Helgeson’s.

In their first text-message discussion on May 9, Helgeson asked the informant to “get rid of him lol.” He told the man that he had a plan, but he didn’t know if it would work, and said he didn’t have any cash to pay to have the victim killed, but he would give the man a “cart and wheeler to get it done,” according to the complaint.

Helgeson clarified that he wanted the victim to be killed, saying he wanted him “like not breathin’” and asking if it could be accomplished before the weekend, the complaint says.

“I would not put my son on the line if it was I’m not a fag like that I seriously need it done,” Helgeson texted, according to the complaint. “Its my life or his and yea choosein mine.”

On May 10, the informant had a phone conversation with Helgeson that was recorded by a Goodhue County sheriff’s detective. Helgeson reiterated that he needed the job done, and the informant said he had an acquaintance who could do it.

“He was asking questions, like how bad do you want him beat up?” the informant asked Helgeson.

“I want him worse than beat up, in a way,” Helgeson replied, according to the complaint.

“Like?” the informant asked.

“Like not breathing,” Helgeson replied.

Helgeson told the informant that the victim had told him he was going to be Helgeson’s son’s father, “and said he would torture my son in front of me, and then kill me,” according to the transcript. “This is my ex’s new boyfriend. I’ve been trying to get this done for two months.”

Helgeson told the informant that he had previously tried to hire someone else to kill the victim, but that person “jacked” his truck and “didn’t do the job,” according to the complaint.

The informant gave Helgeson a phone number to call, and asked him to delete all text-message exchanges. “He don’t (expletive) around,” the informant texted Helgeson. “Only call if you are serious.”

During that exchange, Helgeson asked the informant several times if he was “setting him up.” The informant replied, “Hell no, why would I do you like that? Don’t be a (expletive),” according to the complaint.

Helgeson called the number provided by the informant on May 10 and reached an undercover officer. The two made arrangements to meet at the Flying J truck stop on Interstate 35 west of Northfield the next day, and the officer asked “what was in it for him,” according to the complaint. Helgeson said he could offer a golf cart and a “wheeler.”

The undercover officer, equipped with a covert recording device, met with Helgeson the next day at the Flying J. The meeting was video recorded by other officers, who also listened in on the conversation between the two.

The officer asked Helgeson if he wanted him to do some “work,” and Helgeson said he did. The officer asked who, and Helgeson provided the victim’s name, describing him as “my baby mama’s new boyfriend.”

Helgeson told the officer that the victim had threatened his life and his son’s life and that he had “jumped” him before. The officer said, “So basically you want me to work for you because you’re pissed at him for taking your girl?”

“Basically,” Helgeson replied, according to the transcript. “And for everything else he has done to me.”

Helgeson advised the officer to make the murder “look like a drug deal gone bad” and told him to “leave drugs behind,” according to the complaint.

Helgeson and the officer arranged to meet May 14 at the Flying J. Just before 1 p.m., officers surrounded Helgeson’s car and arrested him; his 2-year-old son, who was in the car with him, was placed into protective custody.

Court appearance

During his first court appearance Wednesday, Helgeson asked the judge to appoint a public defender, telling him that his only employment was “picking rock” for a friend, who paid him $10 an hour for two days one weekend to do the work.

He also asked the judge to release him on a house-arrest basis, saying he needed to care for his son, who is currently staying with Helgeson’s parents. Helgeson told the judge that his son needs to be evaluated for autism and also needs speech therapy, and said he had been responsible for setting up those appointments, though he has joint custody of the child with his ex-girlfriend.

The judge expressed concern that Helgeson had been on pretrial release on charges of assaulting the same victim in the Rice County case, and Rice County Attorney Paul Beaumaster agreed, telling the judge that Helgeson was “quite determined” to hurt the victim.

Helgeson was charged in January in Mower County with two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of third-degree assault. Authorities say he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house and beat her boyfriend with a flashlight before fleeing.

Helgeson “showed a lack of concern for his son” by taking him along when he went to meet a man whom he thought was willing to murder someone earlier this week, Beaumaster said. “I don’t think that showed concern for his son’s safety,” he said.

The judge ordered Helgeson to have no contact with his ex-girlfriend or her boyfriend if he is able to post bond and be released.

“I’m sympathetic about your son, but I think I didn’t put you in the situation you’re in,” the judge told Helgeson. “It appears that you did that, and your son may suffer because of that.”

Cajacob stressed to Helgeson that he shouldn’t use his son as an excuse to have any contact—even indirectly—with his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend.

“If you walk into a store and see them, you turn around and walk out and come back later,” the judge advised.

Helgeson’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 30.

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