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Defendant in fatal river stabbing takes stand in Polk County

By: Associated Press//December 11, 2015//

Defendant in fatal river stabbing takes stand in Polk County

By: Associated Press//December 11, 2015//

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BALSAM LAKE, Wis. (AP) — The Minnesota man on trial in the fatal stabbing of a fisherman along the St. Croix River tearfully recounted the night of the slaying during his testimony in a Wisconsin courtroom.

Twenty-year-old Levi Acre-Kendall of Cambridge, Minn., took the stand in his own defense in Polk County on Friday after a judge ruled the castle law, giving citizens the right to protect themselves in certain places, did not apply in this case. Acre-Kendall is accused of fatally stabbing 34-year-old Peter Kelly of St. Croix Falls after an argument while fishing along the river in April.

Acre-Kendall has pleaded not guilty to first-degree reckless homicide and claims self-defense. He testified Kelly and his fishing partner threatened him and his friends, so he took out his knife, but told them he didn’t want to fight.

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