Kirk Lee Bigby, 62, of Finland, Minnesota, used the last pre-trial hearing to admit guilt in the killing of 35-year-old Marcus Lee Roberts at a December 9, 2015, employee holiday party held at Bluefin Bay in Tofte.
Bigby pled guilty to unintentional second-degree murder at the Friday, May 26 pre-trial hearing held at the Cook County courthouse in front of Sixth Judicial Judge Eric Hylden. With his plea, Bigby ended what was scheduled to be a two-week jury trial that was going to start on June 5 in District Court in Grand Marais.
In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a more serious charge of second-degree murder, which carried a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
It was a stunning admission from Bigby, who had dismissed his court-appointed public defender, Brent Olson, and hired Dave Risk, one of the Twin Cities top defense attorneys, to represent him, stating at the time that at his age, a guilty conviction could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Bigby never denied shooting and killing Roberts, but he maintained that it had to be an act of self-defense. However, because he had been drinking heavily at the time of the shooting, he said he couldn’t recall any of the details of the deadly actions that he took to end the life of Roberts, a husband and father of five kids.
Under terms of his plea agreement, Bigby will spend between 128 to 150 months in prison. Judge Hylden will sentence him on Aug. 9.
Events that led up to the killing of Marcus Roberts may never be known. Roberts was an employee of a Twin Cities casino gaming company that was providing entertainment for the Bluefin employee holiday party. Bigby worked at Bluefin for seven years delivering firewood to rooms and performing other tasks.
Since his arrest Bigby has maintained that he acted in self-defense although he did not give investigators an account of his actions that night.
At the time of the first court hearing, Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken maintained that Bigby shot Roberts “without warning and without provocation.” His act, said Hicken, took from his family, “a son, a brother, and a father of five children.”
At the May 26 pre-trial Hicken didn’t back away from her initial 2015 statement. Following Bigby’s admission, Hicken read from a prepared statement. “The goal of a criminal prosecution is to bring about a just result within the limits of what the law can provide.
“That goal is met with this admission. The sentencing guidelines do not consider the value of a human life lost, nor can a prison sentence ever return a person to the arms of their loved ones.
“With this resolution to the case against Kirk Bigby, the defendant has taken responsibility for the loss and pain he has caused and will be punished for his actions.”
According to transcripts of the incident, when Cook County Law Enforcement arrived on the scene that night they found Roberts lying on his back, not breathing and unresponsive with a red colored stain on his clothing which appeared to originate from the left side of his chest under his arm. The first officer arriving learned that Roberts had been given CPR and the officer continued to give him CPR until EMTs arrived and Roberts was declared deceased. A spent .45-caliber shell was found next to the victim.
One witness told law enforcement that he had been outside having a smoke and he had seen “‘Kirk the firewood guy’ just pull out a gun and shoot the guy.”
That witness identified the victim by first name as the blackjack dealer he had met earlier that night.
Officers learned that Bigby was staying in unit 12B of the resort that night. A photograph of Bigby attained from driver’s license records was found and Lake County deputies on the scene described Bigby as a gun enthusiast who owned many different types of firearms and drove a black Ford Ranger. A black Ford Ranger registered to Kirk Lee Bigby was found in the vicinity of unit 12 and Bigby was discovered in unit 12B by law enforcement. On a bench near the entry way was a dark gray handgun with the hammer cocked back. The bullets inside the firearm matched the shell casing discovered near the victim. Blood was observed in several different areas within and outside of the unit. Bigby had an abrasion on his elbow but no other injuries were observed at the time, although his face was injured when he resisted arrest.
Bigby was then arrested and booked into the Cook County jail on the charge of second-degree murder.
Cook County attorney Molly Hicken prosecuted the case with David Miller of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
With credit for time served and good behavior, Bigby could be released within the next six years, his attorney told the Duluth News-Tribune.IF YOU
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