North Dakota lawyer pleads no contest to fatally bludgeoning ex-wife in Minnesota

A former North Dakota prosecutor and public defender charged with the August 2022 fatal beating of his ex-wife in far northwestern Minnesota has changed his plea in the case.

Anders Odegaard, 32, initially pleaded not guilty, but on Thursday he offered an Alford plea to second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony, meaning he maintains his innocence but concedes there’s enough evidence for a jury to find him guilty.

Odegaard changed his plea in Marshall County District Court after the state and defense settled on a plea agreement, but his sentence won’t be determined until Aug. 15.

Odegaard was arrested on Aug. 23, 2022, after law enforcement was dispatched to a Warren, Minn., residence on the report of a domestic disturbance. At the scene, Odegaard was found with his unconscious ex-wife, Carissa Odegaard, 31.

According to an affidavit in the case, Carissa wasn’t breathing, she had a severe head injury and blood was pooling on the floor beside her.

When law enforcement tried to speak with Odegaard, all he would say was, “I don’t feel right,” the affidavit said. There was blood on his face and in his hair.

Carissa was transported to the hospital. The next day, her family was informed she “had no significant brain function,” and she was taken off life support soon after, the affidavit said.

The two had five children together, three of whom were witnesses — including the youngest, who Carissa was holding before she was attacked, the affidavit said.

One of the children said the violence started when “his mother came to pick them up for church, and his father didn’t want her to take the kids,” according to the affidavit. The same child said he’d seen Odegaard hit his mother before.

The Odegaards finalized a divorce in 2021, and each had custody of the children.

Odegaard was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony.

A graduate of the University of North Dakota’s law school, Odegaard was appointed Mercer County, N.D., prosecutor in the summer of 2021, but he was fired after three months. The county commission never stated publicly why he was let go.

He then served as a public defender in Stark County, N.D., and again was fired after a few months.

Odegaard was subsequently employed for six months by a law firm in Golden Valley.