A 15-year-old boy told police he strangled his 16-year-old sister and smothered her with pillows before performing a sexual act on her.
Prosecutors charged Sergei Isaac Carlson as an adult Tuesday in Cass County District Court with Class AA felony murder and a misdemeanor deviate sexual act related to Whitney Paige Carlson's July 14 death.
Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Reid Brady said that in researching the deviate sexual act statute he could find no reference to such a charge ever having been filed in Cass County.
William Neumann, executive director of the State Bar Association of North Dakota, said it might be a first for the state, but it would be difficult to determine that for certain.
"I don't recall one (a necrophilia case) in the time I've been around. I certainly would remember it," said Neumann, a former district court judge who served as North Dakota Supreme Court justice from 1993 to 2005.
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Court documents state:
On July 16, Sergei Carlson told police he was downstairs watching television on July 13 when his sister returned to their Fargo home at 1425 11th St. S. The two had a short conversation and she went to her bedroom.
He said he snuck into her bedroom about an hour later and "strangled her with his hands and placed pillows over her face to muffle her sounds." He indicated to police he engaged in sexual contact with his sister after she had died.
The children's mother called authorities about 8 a.m. July 14 after finding Whitney Carlson lying in her bed not breathing.
Police arrested Sergei Carlson two days later.
Prosecutors originally charged him in juvenile court, but agreed with the defense Tuesday to automatically transfer the case to adult court, according to Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Tracy Peters.
"We didn't want to prolong this any longer," she said, adding it has been extremely difficult on the family.
North Dakota law requires individuals 14 or older to be charged in adult court if probable cause is shown that a serious crime was committed.
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Mark Bourdon, a family spokesman and uncle of the children, said the family is still processing the situation and had no way of knowing Sergei Carlson "may have been harboring thoughts that could lead" to the charges he faces.
"This was a horrendous thing that Sergei Isaac (Carlson) has done and in no way do we want to turn our heads and pretend that this hasn't happened," he said.
Friends and classmates at Fargo South High School have not forgotten, making bracelets, T-shirts and window decals to honor Whitney Carlson. They celebrated her birthday last month and constantly update popular networking sites MySpace and Facebook with memories and caring words about her.
Bourdon said one family member visits and speaks with Sergei Carlson - who was adopted at age 7 from Russia - on a regular basis. The family inquires about how he is doing, but does not ask a lot of other questions, he said.
"We just want to make sure that there's some connection; he's still a 15-year-old boy," Bourdon said before adding that is not an excuse. "He needs to face the consequences."
Family members huddled together after leaving a closed hearing Tuesday afternoon.
It is unclear if the results of Sergei Carlson's psychological evaluation were discussed because hearings on juvenile matters are closed.
A judge ordered the evaluation in July after Carlson's former attorney, Gene Doeling, requested one citing concerns about his client's "mental competency" after conversations with him and the nature of the allegations.
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Carlson is scheduled to appear this morning in court, where he will be assigned a new court-appointed attorney, Peters said.
If he does not post bail, he will remain in the Cass County Juvenile Detention Center instead of being transferred to the Cass County Jail, Peters said.
Forum reporter Dave Olson contributed to this report.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Brittany Lawonn at (701) 241-5541
