Rod, Erik Steven

A proposed plea deal for Erik Steven Rod, 43, would call for him to plead guilty to Class B felony manslaughter and serve five years in prison.

Rod was originally charged with Class AA felony murder in the shooting death of his wife, Connie Elizabeth Rod, 37, on May 21, 2020, in Minot, and with Class C felony reckless endangerment in connection with the same incident. Rod has said the shooting was an accident while the prosecution has asserted that the shooting was not accidental.

A change of plea hearing for Rod was scheduled for Tuesday but his defense attorney asked to have the hearing rescheduled due to the forecasted blizzard. No new hearing date had been scheduled as of Tuesday afternoon, but Rod is scheduled to go to trial on April 25.

According to court documents, the proposed plea deal would call for the AA felony charge to be amended to B felony manslaughter and for the reckless endangerment charge to be dismissed. Rod would be sentenced to 10 years, with five years suspended, followed by five years of supervised probation. He would also be ordered to have no contact with members of his wife’s family, with the exception of one person, and to pay $2,304.30 in restitution to the North Dakota Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund and $775 in court costs.

“This case turns on whether the circumstances manifest an extreme indifference to human life or if the circumstances were reckless,” wrote Ward County Assistant State’s Attorney Leah Viste in the sentencing memorandum. “The dividing line between the two can be very fine … The defense will suggest that this was an accidental shooting, a mistake of the largest magnitude, for which the Defendant has already paid a very high price.

“In this particular case, the State is largely dependent on the Defendant’s expertise with firearms to support circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life. The State must prove by proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant’s actions with his firearm that day rise to the level of circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life by not following the proper protocol surrounding gun safety.

The State has some information that the Defendant was not a good husband and some things that draw his character into question, but in large part, that information is inadmissible. The issue really comes down to firearm safety practices.”

According to the sentencing memorandum filed by Viste, a child witness to the event has also changed her account of what happened that day. According to her original account, she and the victim had been sitting on the couch together and Rod was “messing with us with the gun” when the gun went off. Several days after the incident, the girl told authorities she had actually been walking towards the bathroom when the gun went off. Still later, she said she hadn’t been in the room at all when the gun went off and Connie Rod was shot. The girl’s inconsistent statements don’t support the murder charge, according to Viste.

Viste also acknowledges that the family is not in agreement with the sentence recommended for Rod and would like to see Rod sentenced to the maximum allowed of 10 years in prison, or at least 75 percent of that sentence.

Judge Gary Lee, the trial judge, would have the choice of whether to accept or reject the recommended plea deal.