The Mass Murder in my House

I thought this might slightly fit in with the serial killers thread. This is what occurred in the house I bought last July.

Larry Dame (5) - On October 20, 2000, Police in Minnesota have arrested an ex-convict Lawrence Scott Dame for the murders of his sister, her husband and their three young children. Dame, had been released the day before the killings from the Anoka County jail where he was being held for allegedly stealing one of the family’s cars.The victims were identified as Donna Mimbach, 29; her husband, Todd Mimbach, 32; and their children, Daniel Mimbach, 22 months; Amber Duval, 9, and John Mimbach, 12. The bodies were found in the family’s suburban Minneapolis home after a concerned co-worker of the father’s called police because he hadn’t shown up to work.

The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported that as a condition of his release, Dame was supposed to report to a hospital for a mental health crisis intervention. Don Ilse, director of field services for Anoka County Community Corrections, told the newspaper that Dame spoke with a mental health professional at the hospital. Family members said they unsuccessfully tried admitting Dame to the hospital. Hannah Dame told the Pioneer Press her son had been acting strangely and recently claimed to hear voices. She quoted her son as saying, "The spirits said your family is going to kill you. Well, I better kill everyone before they kill me."

Police said that Donna Mimbach called Lino Lakes police for help the night before she and her family were killed by her brother. "We did everything legally possible to assist Donna Mimbach on the night of October 18," said Lino Lakes Police Chief Dave Pecchia addressing the fact that officers could not legally arrest Larry S. Dame from her home unless she evicted him. According to the police report the morning after Dame beat the Mimbach family with a hammer and stabbed all but his sister with a kitchen knife as they slept.

According to friends Donna loved her brother. Their other brother, Walter Dame, 23, said Larry drank to quiet the voices. The voices told Larry Dame that his family was out to kill him because they were trying to commit him to a mental hospital, his brother said. Dame had been jailed for a week this month after taking one of the Mimbachs’ cars. He was released the day before the killings. Todd and Donna Mimbach picked him up at the jail late that afternoon. After taking his wife home, Todd Mimbach took Dame to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids hoping to have Dame admitted to the hospital. Instead, Dame was sent back to the Mimbach home.

At 9:26 p.m. Donna called 911 for help: "Um, it’s regarding, OK my brother got discharged from the um jail today and the consequences were that he was supposed to go to the hospital because he hears voices and he stole my car and all this stuff. My husband brought him to the hospital and the hospital will not take him, and so my husband is bringing him back here because we can’t get ahold of his parole officer. Well, I can’t have him stay here. He has to go back to jail or something." The next day, after relatives could not gain access to the house, police were called and the massacre was discovered .