Minnesota lawmaker convicted of felony burglary for breaking into estranged stepmother's home
The jury found Nicole Mitchell, 51, guilty of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools.
The Democrat from the St. Paul suburb of Woodbury has maintained her innocence and refused to resign since her arrest in the early hours of April 22, 2024, at her stepmother's home in the northwestern Minnesota city of Detroit Lakes.
Mitchell insisted in her testimony that she went there purely to check on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer's disease. And she said she initially lied when she told police repeatedly the night of her arrest that she went there in search of her late father's ashes and other items of sentimental value. She testified that she didn't want to further upset her stepmother by expressing concern about her well-being.
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The jury heard Kaia asked her husband that if he was being honest, how many hours did he believe IDW had been overflown? Mr Gullaci explained the model of helicopter involved in the crash needed to be scrapped, or undertake a $400,000 overhaul, once it reached 2,200 recorded flight hours. The jury also heard the helicopter needed to be serviced every 50 hours, according to Australian aviation regulations. In the recording, the jury heard Wright said: 'A couple of hundred, I think, ten percent… I think 200.' Mr Gullaci also said Wright and his wife discussed how he didn't properly log hours, and he didn't even own a 'f***ing book', which the jury heard was meant to mean a helicopter flight hours logbook. Wright also feared video footage of his helicopters taken during TV production and other times could lead investigators to conclude the recorded flight times did not correlate. Mr Gullaci said Wright, in his role as owner and chief pilot of Helibrook, was motivated to cover his tracks because he hadn't kept proper records. The jury heard allegations Helibrook pilots regularly failed to record flight hours and Wright ordered pilots not to record to flight hours. Mr Gullaci said it was the prosecution case Wright had a motivation to 'actively' meddle with the investigation because he believed if his under-recording of hours was uncovered could be considered a reason for the deadly crash. The jury heard IDW was registered to fly with Helibrook in 2020 and a company owned by Wright purchased when it had 1,594 hours on the clock and when it crashed it had 2,070 recorded hours – 130 hours under the threshold. The prosecution alleged the helicopter had flown more than 2,200 hours and Wright had attempted to cover the bogus numbers up. Mr Gullaci acknowledged slinging for croc eggs was 'incredibly brave and risky and dangerous due to the remote nature of the job. Mr Gullaci also stressed that Wright was not responsible for the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's serious injury. The court also heard Wright and the other men including Mr Burns who rushed to the accident scene in another helicopter was also 'incredibly brave'. Mr Gullaci acknowledged slinging for croc eggs was 'incredibly brave and risky and dangerous due to the remote nature of the job. Mr Gullaci also stressed that Wright was not responsible for the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's serious injury. The court also heard Wright and two other men rushed to the accident scene in another helicopter which was also 'incredibly brave'. Other witnesses in the trial will include the pilots, as well as fellow TV crew members, major Top End business figures and crocodile egg collectors. Wright's lead role in Outback Wrangler - before launching his Netflix and Channel Nine spin-off - was believed to have earned him at least $250,000 per season. Wild Croc Territory featured Wright as both the main star and executive producer, working alongside his agent, Nick Fordham, further boosting his income. However, the first season of the show, which co-starred Mr Wilson, was derailed by the tragic crash that led to his death. After the accident, Netflix continued to stream the first season of Wild Croc Territory despite a request from Ms Wilson to cease, but a planned second season for 2023 has never aired. Wright previously had endorsement deals with Ariat, Yokohama Tyres Australia and Otis Eyewear. Tourism Australia also dropped him as a 'Friends of Australia' ambassador. The trial at the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin continues.
