Medical Examiner Confirms Murder/Suicide In Hugo
Sheriff: “We Are Not Done Yet”
HUGO - The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office has completed its preliminary investigation into the deaths of a husband and wife in Hugo, but the work continues, Sheriff Bill Hutton told The Citizen.
The preliminary autopsy results conclude that Michael Mitzuk, 34, apparently killed his wife, Sarah Mitzuk, 32, and then committed suicide in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Jan. 19 in the Creekview townhome complex where they lived with their 4-year-old son, Michael Mathias.
Washington County Sheriff ’s Office (WSCO) investigators continue to work closely with the medical examiner’s office and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Sheriff Hutton said.
“They have more forensic tests that need to be done before they can actually give us a final, final ruling,” he said. “We also have many pieces of evidence down at the BCA for forensic review as well.”
The sheriff confirmed late last week that additional search warrants and subpoenas have been sworn out but would not discuss for where or for whom.
“By all accounts, we are not done yet,” he said, simply.
Sarah Mitzuk’s father discovered the two bodies at 7:41 a.m. that morning aft er arriving for babysitting duties at the couple’s home, and dialed 911.
The Mitzuks’ son was found physically unharmed in the home and was released to his grandfather. Michael is being cared for by relatives.
Both of the Mitzuks sustained gunshot wounds, investigators said. Sarah Mitzuk’s body was found in an upstairs bedroom in bed. Her husband’s body was found in an upstairs bathroom, a gun beside him. Both individuals had obvious signs of gunshot wounds, the report said.
A neighbor in the adjoining unit who shares a common wall heard two very loud shots around 2 a.m., one news report stated.
And although early reports indicated the incident was being investigated as a double homicide, Sheriff Hutton announced that morning that investigators were not looking for any “persons of interest.”
The crime scene was confined to inside the residence, authorities said.
The WCSO, Minnesota State Patrol, Hugo Fire Department, White Bear Lake EMS, and Forest Lake Police Department were all dispatched to the residence at 13435 Europa Court N. The BCA was called in to assist the WCSO with the investigation.
Authorities had no other calls to the residence “that would be deemed related to this incident,” a WCSO press release stated.
However, a Jan. 19 report in the St. Paul Pioneer Press stated that Michael Mitzuk had been charged in Ramsey County in 2004 with carrying a gun in a public place while under the influence of a controlled substance.
Mitzuk, who owned Mitzy’s Tattoo Studio in White Bear Lake, completed a year’s probation and the charges were dismissed.
That same year, Mitzuk applied for restraining orders against two men who were harassing him. One was a childhood friend, and the other, the friend’s father.
The restraining orders were granted by the judge but were never served as the individuals could not be located, the article stated.
Sarah Mitzuk, 32, worked as a grief counselor for Allina Home and Community Services in St. Paul.
Friends said she was pregnant at the time of her death.
The couple purchased their Hugo home in 2004 shortly aft er their marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one; they had many good friends in Hugo.
An official ruling on the manner of death will not be made until the death certificate is signed by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office following results of toxicology tests, which the sheriff said could take several more weeks.