Junkermeier murder trial hearing today

WILLMAR - A trial management conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. today for Brok Junkermeier, the 19-year-old Willmar man charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing Lila Warwick last summer.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday for the trial expected to last up to three weeks before District Judge Donald Spilseth in Kandiyohi County District Court.
Warwick, 79, was found dead, stabbed and strangled, at her residence on the east edge of Willmar on July 29.
Junkermeier and Warwick’s grandson, Robert Warwick, 18, were indicted on first-degree murder charges in September for their roles in the murder. Both young men face the possibility of life in prison if convicted and both are currently held on $2 million bail in the Kandiyohi County Jail.
Junkermeier is represented by Kent Marshall, a state public defense attorney. The State Attorney General’s office is prosecuting both young men, with Robert Plesha and Matthew Frank, assistant attorney generals, handling the case.
Court documents say that Robert Warwick was the alleged mastermind of the crime, which he and Junkermeier had allegedly planned for months. It was allegedly motivated by a large amount of money Warwick suspected was in his grandmother’s possession.
Junkermeier allegedly entered the grandmother’s home and stabbed and strangled her after making her write him a check from her bank account. The teens also allegedly returned to the home after the murder and stole a small safe. Items, including Lila Warwick’s documents, were found when law officers served a search warrant on Junkermeier’s home.
The third teen charged in the case, Devon Jenkins, 16, of Willmar, was sentenced in January to a juvenile sentence at Prairie Lakes Youth Programs, probation until his 21st birthday and 100 hours of community service each year. He also received a stayed adult sentence of 15 years in prison, to be executed if he fails to comply with the juvenile sentence.