Minn. man, former attorney for the state of N.D., sentenced in ex-wife’s beating death

Anders Odegaard

WARREN, Minn. (KFGO) – A judge in Northwestern Minnesota has sentenced a former attorney to 18 years in prison for the beating death of his ex-wife.

The sentence, given to 33-year-old Anders Odegaard, was part of a plea agreement between the defense and the Marshall County Attorney’s Office.  Odegaard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the August 2022 death of 31-year-old Carissa Odegaard. In exchange for the guilty plea, a charge of second-degree intentional murder was dismissed.

Two of the couple’s young children witnessed the attack, which happened at Anders Odegaard’s home in Warren. Carissa Odegaard died at at Fargo hospital.

Anders Odegaard was at one time an assistant attorney general in North Dakota as well as a lawyer for the state’s Insurance Department.