Hibbing man pleads guilty to killing girlfriend

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A Hibbing man pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter on Monday in the June 2022 killing of his girlfriend, 43-year-old Kari Jo Petrich.

In a St. Louis County courtroom, 47-year-old Eric James Jarvis was allowed to enter a Norgaard  guilty plea, in which Jarvis acknowledged that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction while maintaining he was too intoxicated to recall events surrounding the killing.

According to court records, prosecutors said Petrich was struck with a blunt object and left for up to 24 hours on their apartment floor while Jarvis cleaned the crime scene.

Petrich was a mother of four and grandmother of two.

Court records also state a medical examiner said Petrich would have survived, if she had received immediate medical attention after the assault.

Law enforcement was called to the apartment on two separate occasions on June 26 to reports of a domestic disturbance, but without signs of injuries, they cleared the scene.

The next call to police was made by Jarvis at 12:55 a.m. on June 28 when he reported that he found Petrich on the living room floor and that she was cold to the touch.

Police observed a “significant blood stain” on the carpet, next to Petrich’s head and also found a small glass shard nearby.

In a search of the apartment trash, police discovered bloody wet wipes, a bloody vodka bottle and shattered pieces of a vase and broken plate.

An autopsy report indicated that Petrich died from a blunt force head trauma, likely caused by being struck by an object or fist.

Jarvis is expected to be sentenced to maximum allowable prison time under the state guidelines, 8 ½ years.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14.