Zachary Todd Anderson Pleads Guilty To First-Degree Murder

Zachary Todd Anderson

After nearly two years, a Coon Rapids man has pleaded guilty to the abduction, sexual assault, and murder of a five-year-old Meeker County girl.

According to a release from the Cass County Attorney’s Office, on Friday, March 2, Zachary Todd Anderson, 27, appeared in Cass County District Court and entered a plea of guilty to committing Murder in the First Degree involving Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree with Sexual Penetration. The plea is related to the abduction, sexual assault, and murder of a five-year-old child and disposal of her body in Cass County.

The mandatory penalty for this crime is life in prison without the possibility of release, which is the maximum sentence allowed under Minnesota law for any offense. This prompted sentencing to happen immediately after Anderson’s guilty plea.

Several family members gave victim impact statements during the sentencing. Judge Jana Austad imposed the mandatory life sentence without release.

With the Anderson pleading guilty, and executing a life sentence without the possibility of release, a jury trail on the remaining counts in the indictment will not be necessary.