CROSBY — A 63-year-old funeral home owner was accused of driving while intoxicated while attempting to pick up a body for transport on Sunday, Feb. 23, in Crosby, Minnesota.
Nicholas Gordon Zillmer was charged with gross misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 364 days confinement and/or a fine of $3,000.
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On Feb. 26, Zillmer posted a $12,000 bond without conditions and is no longer in custody. He is due back in Crow Wing County District Court on April 4.
Criminal complaint
According to court documents, law enforcement responded to a report of a dispute around 9:38 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, at a residence on First Street Northwest in Crosby.
Crosby police officers reportedly responded to the scene and spoke with residents at the home who indicated a family member passed away. Zillmer responded to their residence to pick up the body of the deceased on behalf of Koop Funeral Home. He reportedly appeared to be intoxicated.
Officers reportedly spoke with the defendant outside the residence and observed he had bloodshot and watery eyes, was unstable on his feet and had an odor of alcohol coming from his mouth. Zillmer admitted to driving to the residence, according to court documents.
A field sobriety test showed clues of impairment. Zillmer submitted to a preliminary breath test with a blood alcohol content of 0.17.
The defendant was transported to the Crosby Police Department, where a second breath test at 10:09 p.m. yielded a BAC of 0.19.
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'What are we doing here?'
Not wanting her father to be alone in his final moments, Rocky Koehn said she, her siblings and their family gathered in the living room of the family home as their father lay in hospice.
Their father, a Navy veteran, 1964-69, was diagnosed a few years back with inoperable lung cancer traced to his time in the service.
Koehn said that in December, her father's health took a turn, and he started getting very sick. Then, on Thursday, Feb. 20, they started calling family to come home to pay their last respects.
“I went 36 hours without sleep to be at my dad's bedside, giving him medication every hour — It was hard,” Koehn said. “So on Sunday, we were all there, my brother, sister, our spouses, my daughter, and it was, I mean, we were tired, we were exhausted — I held my dad in my arms as he took his last breath.”
After they called the hospice nurse and took care of all the paperwork on their end, the family gathered in the living room while waiting for Koop Funeral Home, which had worked with Koehn's mother to make arrangements.
Koehn said a disheveled Zillmer came up to the home, walked inside, “flopped down in this chair” and then asked everyone in the room, “So, what are we doing here?”
“I was like, ‘What in God's name,’” Koehn said. “My mom used to be the mayor of Crosby, so she's had dealings with Nick, outside of them making arrangements for my dad's funeral. So it's not the first time they had ever met. It was so off-putting that he's like, ‘What are we doing here?’ My dad has passed away, and I just thought it was kind of strange that he made that comment.”
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Though she said the comment took her breath away, Koehn said her mother started talking to Zillmer, answering his questions before he cut the conversation off, asking her who all these people were.
As she was introducing everyone in the room, Koehn said Zillmer once again cut her off mid-conversation and asked, “Are you comfortable with all these people here?”
Koehn said her mother told him, “Yes, this is my family,” before he asked her, “So, what's been going on with him?”
Koehn said she Zimmer was slurring his words, had bloodshot eyes and untied shoes, and that she felt something was off. She said her brother stood up, thanked Zillmer for coming and asked him to leave.
“He walked over to him, stuck his hand out, and said, ‘Thank you for coming. Now, you got to get the (expletive) out of here,’” Koehn said. “And he looked at him, and he's like, ‘No.’”
Koehn said Zillmer then looked at her mother and asked if they were serious before again refusing to leave.
At this time, Koehn said her daughter went into another room and called the police.
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Koehn said when an officer arrived at the home, they asked him something to the effect of, “Nick, what's going on?”
Once the officer got Zillmer outside, authorities conducted a field sobriety test on Zillmer.
While the officers were conducting their investigation, she said her family called Brenny Funeral & Cremation and someone was there within the hour.
“I explained everything to him and he was there within 45 minutes,” Koehn said. “He walked in, he introduced himself, he walked over to my dad, put his hand on my dad's shoulder and kind of bowed his head. He showed my dad so much grace and respect. He showed us respect. He did what we expected should have been done.”
On Tuesday, March 4, Zillmer told the Dispatch he had no comment on the charges against him.
Crosby is located in central Minnesota, roughly 16 miles northeast of Brainerd.
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