LITCHFIELD, Minn. - A Grove City man is facing five charges, including child neglect and obstruction, for behavior before and after the murder-suicide deaths of his children nearly one year ago.
Meeker County authorities say Thomas Jon Cunningham, 52, removed 8 pounds of marijuana, plus marijuana plants and paraphernalia from the home before calling 911. They were discovered the next day, dumped behind the property.
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According to charges filed Friday, Feb. 24, responding officers discovered 20 guns and multiple boxes of ammunition in the home, a pickup truck and a pole shed on the property.
They say 17 of those guns were discovered in the bedroom of 17-year-old David, who shot his sister, Jessica, 15, and the family dog before shooting himself the afternoon of Feb. 29, 2016.
Authorities said they found a McDonald鈥檚 receipt near the marijuana dumped on the property, which they say puts Cunningham鈥檚 story in a different time frame than initially described, according to the criminal complaint.
Grove City is about 50 miles southwest of St. Cloud.
Originally, Cunningham told police he arrived home from a quick trip to McDonald鈥檚 for lunch around 2:30 p.m. to find his two children and the family dog dead. He had said that he called 911 after another person arrived at the residence.
But the McDonald鈥檚 receipt had a time stamp of 1:07 p.m., which surveillance footage reportedly confirmed, according to a criminal complaint.
Law enforcement said they believe Cunningham arrived home to find his son and dog dead outside, then entered the home, took off his shoes, and found his daughter dead upstairs.
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They allege he then removed all of the marijuana and paraphernalia from the residence. While doing so, they believe, he stepped on a mason jar in the basement, cutting his foot. He allegedly loaded the drugs in his pickup truck, and dumped it behind his property.
Law enforcement discovered bloody circle tracks throughout the home during the investigation, which they believe were from Cunningham鈥檚 cut foot.
Another person arrived at the home, and Cunningham called police around 2:30 p.m., according to the criminal complaint.
In a news release issued several days after the Feb. 29, 2016, shooting, Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze had said there was no known motive for the shooting.
David Cunningham had been a student at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. He was home Feb. 29 because ACGC does not have school on Mondays. His sister, Jessica, was a former ACGC student, but the Sheriff鈥檚 Office had said that she had been schooling online at home.
The allegations in the criminal complaint against Thomas Cunningham say he took his daughter to one mental health-related counseling session. But he allegedly told her not to talk about her suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and allegedly gave both children marijuana.
They also allege Cunningham鈥檚 son had previously killed a different family dog, had shot the ceiling of the home and pointed a firearm at another person, but was still allowed access to all of the firearms on the property.
Other charges filed Friday against Cunningham include removal of a firearm serial number, fifth-degree drug possession and negligent storage of firearms.
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He is not in custody. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges March 14.
