Jury convicts man in West St. Paul group home murder

A jury on Wednesday convicted a man of murder in the brutal stabbing of a roommate at a West St. Paul mental health facility more than four years ago.

Dakota County jurors deliberated for less than an hour before finding John C. Adams, 43, guilty of second-degree intentional murder in the Feb. 17, 2020, death of David Eugene Rahn, 68, who was found with stab wounds to his face, neck, back and upper extremities.

The guilty verdict came after a four-day trial before Dakota County District Court Judge Michael Mayer. He set Adams’ sentencing for Dec. 20.

Adams’ attorney, Alex Rogosheske, declined to comment on the verdict.

Court records show Adams was first committed as mentally ill and dangerous in Hennepin County in October 2000. At the time of the murder, he had been on leave from Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter since November 2018, when he moved into the group home.

The murder prosecution was suspended in May 2000 when a medical assessment found Adams unfit to stand trial. Proceedings resumed last October when he was found fit after years of treatment in a state hospital.

According to the criminal complaint, a staff member heard a noise in Rahn’s room, and Rahn yelled for help. The staff member tried to enter, but Adams blocked the door and said everything was fine.

While on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, the staff member said Rahn’s room became quiet and “something didn’t feel right.”

When the first responding officer arrived at the state-run group home at 1546 Christensen Ave. shortly after 4 a.m., he saw a shirtless man — later identified as Adams — run from the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall building across the street and enter the home.

Police and medics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Rahn, but he was pronounced dead. He also suffered at least 20 stab wounds to one of his hands, consistent with defensive wounds, and blunt force trauma to his head.

Adams, who was in his room, told officers that Rahn “burst into his room” and attacked him. They fought, Adams said, before he fled and grabbed a knife to defend himself.

Adams said he threw the knife in a trash can near the Jehovah’s Witnesses building. Police found a blood-covered, heavily bent, serrated knife in a white plastic bag wrapped in electrical tape. Bloody gloves were also found.

During an interview at the police station, Adams changed his story. He said he went to bed between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. Around 1:30 a.m., when he got up to go to the bathroom, he saw Rahn standing in the doorway holding a knife.

According to Adams, Rahn ordered him to go inside, which he did. Adams told investigators that Rahn said he had nothing left to live for and began stabbing himself. Adams said he tried to take the knife from Rahn but was unable to and thought Rahn was going to attack him.

Adams said he waited in a corner of the room while Rahn continued to stab himself before he ran out of strength. Adams said he then grabbed the knife, ran across the street and cried before returning to the group home.

Preliminary calls to the home

West St. Paul police records showed officers responded to seven previous calls to the group home starting in early 2014, when it was licensed by the Department of Human Services. The calls included disturbances, damage to a vehicle and two missing persons reports.