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Investigation Continues On Death Of Cold Spring Officer

09/09/2013 - 11:10 AM

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) - Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner says the investigation remains open into the slaying of Cold Spring Police Officer Tom Decker because two significant questions remain unanswered.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension last month said there would have been enough evidence to arrest Eric Joseph Thomes if the 31-year-old had not killed himself first.

However, in an interview with The St. Cloud Times, Sanner says investigators still haven't determined a motive for the officer's killing last November, nor have they determined whether the shooter or shooters acted alone.

Sanner says he still can't discuss specifics of the investigation. But he says the release of Ryan Larson, who was arrested the night of the shooting but never charged, shows the checks and balances built into the criminal justice system work.