South St. Paul man pleads guilty to killing National Guardsman

March 05--A South St. Paul man who said he had been abused as a child "saw red" when Heather Horst told him her husband had beaten her -- killing her unborn baby.

"I was ready to back out," once he had gotten to the basement of the Horst home in the 400 block of Bellows Street in St. Paul, said defendant Aaron William Allen. He was to lie in wait there, the night of Aug. 4, until Brandon Horst fell asleep. Heather Horst reminded him of her husband Brandon's alleged brutality.

"She said, 'Just think of what he did to the baby.' I lost it again," Allen said. It reminded him of his childhood, in which he was victimized and watched his mother being beaten, too. "I wanted to put an end to it, rather than her going to police.

I didn't see police doing anything about it."

Heather Horst argued to Allen that officers would ignore her complaints, given the fact that Brandon Horst was a member of the Minnesota Air National Guard.

She also promised Allen that he would get 10 percent of her husband's life insurance policy -- which she said was worth $1 million -- if he killed Brandon Horst for her.

Allen, 25, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning in Ramsey County District Court to second-degree intentional murder. Both sides agreed he would be sentenced to the maximum allowed under state law: 40 years in prison.

Both he and Heather Horst, also known as Heather Schwarz, were indicted on charges of first-degree premeditated murder and other counts. The first-degree count will be dismissed at Allen's sentencing, set for April 22.

Brandon Horst was 25 when he died of a single bullet wound to the head. He was asleep when Allen walked up the stairs of his home and shot him.

Heather Horst, 25, is out on bail.

In answer to a series of questions by Ramsey County prosecutor Karen Kugler, Allen said that Heather Horst began telling him in June 2013 about alleged abuse by her husband, though Allen never saw any marks on her. On one occasion, she came to him with red twine around her neck, alleging Brandon Horst had tied it there.

She also said there were two other occasions when her husband killed their unborn babies. Once he threw her down the stairs. Another time he punched her in the stomach, Allen said she claimed.

When she came to Allen's house the morning of Aug. 4, "She said, 'I want him dead,' " referring to Brandon Horst, Allen said. She added, "He killed the baby."

"I was outraged. I lost all sense of reason. I saw red," Allen said.

Heather Horst asked Allen to carry out the murder.

They talked. Two longtime friends of Allen's were going to help him carry out the killing. They would make it look like a break-in, taking a Playstation 3 and other items. They would wait for Horst inside the front door and jump him. Allen would "slit his throat," and another man would have a gun as backup, he said.

But later in the day, after buying some clothing, shoes and other supplies -- all paid for by Heather Horst -- the two other men were nowhere to be found. They didn't respond to Allen's repeated calls. It would have to be Allen by himself. He and Heather Horst decided they would wait until Brandon Horst was asleep, and then Allen would shoot him with one of her guns.</p>

Heather Horst drove Allen to her house about 8:30 or 9 p.m. She took a pistol out of the wine cabinet in the dining room. They went into the basement. Heather Horst left; Allen waited in the dark.

Several hours later, Heather Horst returned to say that Brandon was asleep. She assured him that everything will be fine, he said.

"She said, 'Don't worry. We'll get away with it. It's gonna be quick, clean.' "

On his way upstairs, Allen thought he heard talking. The dog, secured in its kennel, was "barking the whole time." Allen got spooked and went back to the basement. Sometime between 12:17 and 12:27 a.m., based on text messages he sent, he made his way back upstairs, stood in the bedroom doorway 3 or 4 feet from Brandon Horst, and pulled the trigger.

Later that morning, Heather Horst arrived at Allen's home, saying she had been questioned by police all night. She needed to use the phone and find an attorney. She was angry, but expressed no remorse, Allen said.

Two days after that, she returned to Allen's house and gave him a hug, he said.

She leaned up and whispered in his ear. "This will have to do for payment until further notice," she said, according to Allen.

Allen learned during the investigation of the killing that Heather Horst had not been pregnant.

"Why are you pleading guilty today?" Kugler asked.

Allen paused. "Things need to be set right. I feel ... I feel that his family deserves justice."

Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522. Follow her at twitter.com/emilygurnon.

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