Cops: Man Beheaded Girlfriend's Alleged Rapist

Joseph Thoresen faces up to 40 years in prison
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 1, 2016 3:00 AM CDT
Cops: Man Beheaded Girlfriend's Rapist
Joseph Thoresen   (Itasca County Sheriff's Office)

A Minnesota man and his unnamed girlfriend have been charged with brutally murdering and beheading a 20-year-old man the girlfriend claimed raped her, NBC News reports. According to KARE 11, the girlfriend was upset when her boyfriend, 35-year-old Joseph Thoresen, informed her David Haiman was coming to their apartment June 21. She told Thoresen that Haiman had raped her, then she broke his nose when he showed up at the apartment. Haiman apparently agreed to be tied up and beaten as punishment for raping Thoresen's girlfriend. Police say Thoresen punched Haiman multiple times while telling him he shouldn't have raped "my girl." Afterward, the three allegedly drove around in Haiman's car, smoking marijuana and meth.

While they were driving, Haiman repeatedly insulted the couple until Thoresen faked car trouble. Thoresen allegedly had Haiman get out and check the oil, then beat him with a bat and stabbed him multiple times, CBS News reports. Police say Thoresen then took a machete off of Haiman's belt and used it to cut his head off, leaving both Haiman's head and torso in the nearby woods. Thoresen was arrested in Haiman's car last Friday following an unrelated traffic stop. He's now been charged with second-degree murder and faces up to 40 years in prison. His girlfriend has been charged with being an accomplice to murder and assault. She isn't being identified because she's the alleged victim of a sexual assault. (More murder stories.)

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