.jpg)
VIRGINIA — A 55-year-old Iron Range man was sentenced to more than 46 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree intentional murder for killing an elderly Babbitt couple who took in this formerly homeless assailant.
Roger Allen Beldo confessed to striking Clifford Leonard Johnson in the head with a tire iron while his 78-year-old host was in a garage at his residence last October. He then proceeded to enter the home, where Beldo acknowledged attacking Christine Louise Johnson, 79, with a hammer, causing her death.
Cozette Karkinen, who is married to Christine Johnson’s brother, said the death of the couple “will haunt us forever.”
“I want Roger to know how much he took away from this family,” she said.
Crystal Karkinen, the Johnsons’ niece, wrote the court that reimagining the events of the attack has been a recurring cause of trauma for family members, including herself. She described it as having “a wave of fear, nausea and heartbreak wash over them.”
“In some respects, I feel like it all happened a lifetime ago, like this pain has been here forever. Yet, the hurt remains as fresh and raw as if it all happened yesterday. While it may eventually dull with time, it will never go away. We’ll live with this tragic loss for the rest of our lives,” Crystal Karkinen wrote.
“We can only hope that Mr. Beldo will spend the rest of his knowing the impact of what he has done,” she said.
After the murders, Beldo allegedly took the victims’ car and drove it to Duluth, where he made multiple calls from the Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center, saying he had done “some really bad things.”
A Duluth police officer responded and encountered Beldo in a nearby parking lot. He reported the suspect smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and his eyes were watery and bloodshot. Beldo stated that he should be taken to jail, explaining that he had killed someone. The officer noted blood stains on Beldo’s clothing and white shoes.
After further questioning, he directed officers to the home 38 Fir Circle in Babbitt, where the Johnsons’ bodies were discovered.
The victims’ Nissan Rogue was recovered near 23rd Avenue West and First Street with blood on the exterior of the vehicle. Beldo had the keys to the stolen vehicle in his possession.
He told an investigator that the victims “wanted his Section 8 voucher after he was approved and that the victims were taking his food stamps.”
A granddaughter of the Johnsons told authorities that Beldo had been residing in the Babbit home for at least a month before the attack.
Judge Michelle Anderson told Beldo that while he had accepted responsibility for murdering the Johnsons, “who welcomed you into their home and provided you an opportunity for a better life, the “gruesome facts” of the case demand serious consequences.
“On Oct. 28, you intentionally took the lives of Clifford and Christine Johnson in a place where they should have felt their safest — their home,” Anderson said.
“These acts were carried out in a very personal manner,” said Judge Michelle Anderson.
She referred to the brutal murders as two separate “senseless” acts that compound the seriousness of the crimes.
“The killings were carried out in a particularly callous manner and were two distinct acts against two different victims,” Anderson said. “These acts were carried out in a very personal manner.”
Whenaskedifhewantedtomake a statement prior to sentencing, Beldo responded succinctly, offering little defense.
“I loved Christine and Cliff myself, with all my heart. They were good people to me, and I killed them,” he said.
Anderson expressed her concern.
“These most violent acts occurred after building a trusted relationship with and receiving acts of affection from this altruistic couple,” she said. The audacity of the attacks cannot go unrecognized, she said, explaining why consecutive sentences for both murders seemed appropriate, given the circumstances.
As part of a plea deal, Beldo will not face charges of first-degree, premeditated murder. Convictions on those charges would have each carried mandatory life sentences, without the possibility of parole.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, Beldo was sentenced to serve 556 months in prison. In effect, however, the deal may mean he never leaves confinement again, with the convict ineligible for supervised release until his mid-80s, at the earliest.
Beldo will turn 56 this week, and Anderson said he will serve the next 30 years in prison. “Assuming he outlives that time, he’ll be on supervised release until he’s approximately 102 years old,” she said.
“For all purposes, the sentence today likely reflects a life sentence for Mr. Beldo,” Anderson said.
In his written guilty plea statement, Beldo said that he would make no argument that he was mentally unfit at the time of the murders and confirmed that he understood the criminal charges that had been leveled against him — an assertion confirmed by an earlier court-ordered mental health evaluation.
Nevertheless, Beldo acknowledged he has undergone treatment for a number of problems, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and substance abuse.
Beldo has a lengthy rap sheet, dating back to at least 1995, with at least 15 convictions for disorderly conduct and three for domestic abuse.
Roger Allen Beldo
In 2013, he pleaded guilty to felony counts of domestic violence and theft of a motor vehicle, serving 13 months in prison, after several probation violations led to the revocation of a stayed sentence.
Other lesser charges over the years include property damage, harassing phone calls, interfering with a police officer, impaired driving and fleeing law enforcement in a motor vehicle.
Beldo has remained in jail since his arrest, unable to post a $1 million bail or bond note.
As part of the plea agreement, Beldo will also be required to pay restitution for the Johnsons’ funeral expenses, likely taken from prison earnings.
Anderson acknowledged the case cannot neatly be resolved, especially with a plea agreement settlement but noted the sentence remains significant.
“These crimes leave behind more questions than answers,” she said. “Rightfully so, there may always be the lingering question of what’s just about the criminal justice system.”
