MINOT, N.D. (AP) — A Minot man has been convicted of murder in the slaying of his father.
Christopher Vickerman, 31, had pleaded not guilty in the May 2019 death of 55-year-old Mark Vickerman at his Minot home. A jury returned a guilty verdict on Monday, after a weeklong trial.
The Minot Daily News reports that testimony at trial showed the father and son had a strained relationship, and had argued over business, money, and custody of Christopher Vickerman’s children. Mark Vickerman had told friends that his son is mentally ill and not medicated. Mark Vickerman told several people he was afraid his son would try to kill him.
Authorities said the son called police from his father’s home to say he found him dead. An autopsy showed the victim was shot four times in the chest.
The son told investigators he had been working all day except when he left for lunch and had stopped at his father’s house to sell him a gun.
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Christopher Vickerman faces up to life in prison without parole. A sentencing date has not been set.
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