Background: Otter Tail Lake (Google Maps). Inset: Franklin Dickinson (Otter Tail County (Minn.) Jail).
A man accused of trying to drown his mother and sister in a Minnesota lake has apparently blamed a drug-infused seltzer for his violent outburst.
Franklin Dickinson, 42, allegedly tried to strangle and drown his 64-year-old mother and 25-year-old sister in Otter Tail Lake, according to local radio station KFGO. Prosecutors say Dickinson held his sister underwater until she lost consciousness, KFGO reported. He also reportedly dragged his mother by the hair when she went to help her daughter.
When deputies arrived after receiving a 911 call about the alleged attempted drowning, Dickinson allegedly told them that he was having a bad reaction to a THC seltzer drink.
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Local news website The Journal, citing court records, said that one victim told deputies that she was held underwater for a long time; the deputy reportedly noticed injuries to her neck and collarbone. The other victim reportedly told investigators that Dickinson had pulled the first victim under a dock on the lake. The second victim allegedly yelled for help, and a next-door neighbor”s son jumped into the water and pulled Dickinson off the first victim.
That victim has reportedly said that she would not have survived if Dickinson hadn’t been pulled off of her.
Dickinson was originally charged with assault and domestic assault, but the Otter County prosecutor confirmed to Law&Crime that the charges were upgraded to one count of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of domestic assault by strangulation, both felonies, and one count of domestic assault causing fear, a misdemeanor.
Otter Tail County is located in the western part of the state, nearly 190 miles northwest of Minneapolis and 75 miles southeast of Fargo in neighboring North Dakota.
According to Otter Tail County Jail records, Dickinson remains in custody. He has a hearing scheduled for Sept. 15.
