NORTH MANKATO, MN — A Mankato woman is accused of helping her son and others after the May shooting death of a North Mankato teenager, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday. Prosecutors say Christa Marie Wolner, 53, provided transportation, money, phones and access to her business while investigators looked into the killing of 17-year-old Tyson Goodsell.
The complaint says Wolner also helped search for discarded cellphones and tried to dispose of a firearm component at her son’s direction. She faces four felony counts tied to obstructing the murder and aggravated robbery investigation and helping offenders avoid arrest.
How investigators describe events
Authorities say Goodsell was lured to North Mankato for what he thought was a $3,000 THC cartridge sale, but the meeting was arranged as a robbery. Investigators allege Abdikhadar Fakhi Mohidin fired six shots at the teen during the encounter.
Ryan Wolner, Christa Wolner’s son, is among several people accused in the case. The complaint says Christa Wolner received late-night calls on May 23, drove from her cabin near Waterville to her business in Mankato, and later picked up her son after the shooting.
Phones, cash and surveillance
According to the complaint, Wolner drove Ryan Wolner to a spot along Highway 169 where he had thrown two cellphones from a vehicle. Police later recovered one of the phones from a ditch.
Investigators also allege she sent $205 through a mobile app to an uninvolved person after two other suspects used that person’s phone to call her from a convenience store. The person then withdrew $200 and gave it to the suspects, who allegedly used it for a hotel room. Police say they recovered surveillance video from her business, but were unable to retrieve later interior recordings.
Evidence, jail calls and next steps
The complaint says GPS and Snapchat data placed Christa and Ryan Wolner at the homicide scene on May 25, and investigators found a photo that appeared to be taken from her vehicle as they drove by. A plaid bag found in the back seat of her Cadillac was identified by a witness as the one that had contained the rifle allegedly used in the shooting.
After Ryan Wolner was arrested May 26, investigators say jail calls suggested the pair were discussing moving a “Pokémon” card, which police believed was code for evidence. Officers later recovered a gold-colored firearm switch from a ditch along a route Christa Wolner had driven, and the complaint says she also let her son use her cellphone to contact co-defendants and told members of the group to get lawyers.
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