Josephine Powers (Dakota County Jail)
Not long after a father came home from a two-week vacation to find what he thought was “brown paint throughout” his home, he took a lunch break from work and saw a man in a “hazmat” suit ripping up carpet in the basement, Minnesota authorities say. Now his daughter is accused of shooting of shooting a 70-year-old man in the head because, according to her suspected accomplice in the disposal of the body, the victim was “f—ing with her and she could not take it anymore.”
Somehow, these details only scratch the surface of the grisly second-degree intentional murder complaint against 25-year-old Burnsville resident Josephine Ann Powers, who allegedly called the cops on July 18 to report the shooting of Michael Robert Riccio from at least nine days earlier.
According to the Dakota County Attorney’s Office and a statement of probable cause, witness testimony indicates that Powers and Riccio had an argument that escalated to her grabbing a gun and pulling the trigger with fatal results before she “freaked out and ran around the house,” and then tried to “clean-up the blood.”
Witness 1, Powers’ father, allegedly told the Burnsville Police Department that on July 18, two days after he saw a “tall, white male in his house wearing a ‘hazmat’ suit […] cleaning up the brown point and removing portions of the carpet from the basement floor,” he woke up to an “odor of bleach and ammonia in the house.”
Nonetheless, he went to work, according to this version of events. When he got home, Witness 2, described as his daughter’s friend, told the man that Powers said Riccio was shot to death while her homeowner dad was on vacation, documents said.
“While in the residence, the officers detected a strong odor of bleach and observed what appeared to be recently patched bullet holes in the hallway,” the complaint said.
When cops spoke to the suspect, she allegedly said that a man named “Chris,” later identified as Christopher Michael Hawkins, had helped move the victim’s body out of the home, possibly taking Riccio’s remains “in a large gray box shaped container” to a shed in Minneapolis.
Once there, investigators said they found the victim’s remains inside a “large, gray container,” and it was clear he was shot once in the head.
After Hawkins was read his Miranda rights, cops said, he told authorities that Powers had asked him to help “move a package […] in exchange for a truck,” and that when he got to the suspect’s home, Riccio was “wrapped up in garbage bags and rugs.” Not only did Hawkins allegedly admit that he helped Powers clean up blood, but also revealed what the suspected shooter said about what happened.
“Powers told him a guy was f—ing with her and she could not take it anymore, so she shot him,” court documents said. “Powers told him she shot the guy with a pistol that had been given to her by a friend who was present when the shooting happened.”
The friend Hawkins allegedly referenced, Witness 4, told cops that they heard Powers and Riccio arguing before the shooting.
“Witness 4 was in the hallway outside of Powers’ bedroom but could see and hear Victim and Powers arguing. Powers began to throw things at Victim. Powers grabbed a black handgun and shot Victim,” authorities alleged. “Victim feel onto a couch and was unconscious. Powers freaked out and ran around the house.”
Dakota County Jail records reviewed by Law&Crime say that Powers’ bail was set at $1,000,0000 without conditions or at $750,000 with conditions that she have no contact with Riccio’s family or any witnesses (except her father), that she turn in any guns and not use drugs or consume alcohol, and that she stay in Minnesota.
A court appearance was set for Aug. 1.
As for Hawkins, Hennepin County Jail records show he is held there in an unrelated burglary case.
“A complaint warrant has been issued to transfer Hawkins to the Dakota County Jail upon his release,” prosecutors said.
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