Joseph Christen Thoresen, 35, appeared in court on Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, to face a charge of murder in the second degree for allegedly killing a 20-year-old man by beating him with a baseball bat and then stabbing him repeatedly on or around June 21, the Itasca County Attorney’s office said in a statement.  MINNEAPOLIS -- A northern Minnesota man faces a murder charge for allegedly beating and decapitating a man he believed raped his girlfriend. Thoresen was arrested June 24 after a traffic stop and later released, reports CBS Minnesota. The driver of the vehicle, who was also arrested after fleeing, told police Thoresen had told him he had killed the owner of the car, police say. Haiman, 20, of Hibbing, had been reported missing Saturday after he didn't show up for work and hadn't been seen for five days, the complaint said. According to the complaint, Thoresen's girlfriend told police that when she learned Haiman was coming to the couple's Grand Rapids apartment, she became upset and told Thoresen that Haiman had sexually assaulted her. When Haiman arrived, she confronted him and punched him and he "agreed to be tied up and beat up," the complaint states. She untied him, then Thoresen punched him repeatedly and told him that he should not have raped "my girl," reports CBS Minnesota. As they were driving in the woods, Haiman allegedly began to verbally insult the couple when they ran into car trouble. Authorities eventually found Haiman’s torso and head in the woods in Itasca County near where the girlfriend told investigators the crime had taken place, according to the complaint. After authorities learned the car's owner had been reported missing, they arrested Thoresen June 26 at his Grand Rapids apartment.
– A Minnesota man and his unnamed girlfriend have been charged with brutally murdering and beheading a 20-year-old man the girlfriend claimed raped her, NBC News reports. According to KARE 11, the girlfriend was upset when her boyfriend, 35-year-old Joseph Thoresen, informed her David Haiman was coming to their apartment June 21. She told Thoresen that Haiman had raped her, then she broke his nose when he showed up at the apartment. Haiman apparently agreed to be tied up and beaten as punishment for raping Thoresen's girlfriend. Police say Thoresen punched Haiman multiple times while telling him he shouldn't have raped "my girl." Afterward, the three allegedly drove around in Haiman's car, smoking marijuana and meth. While they were driving, Haiman repeatedly insulted the couple until Thoresen faked car trouble. Thoresen allegedly had Haiman get out and check the oil, then beat him with a bat and stabbed him multiple times, CBS News reports. Police say Thoresen then took a machete off of Haiman's belt and used it to cut his head off, leaving both Haiman's head and torso in the nearby woods. Thoresen was arrested in Haiman's car last Friday following an unrelated traffic stop. He's now been charged with second-degree murder and faces up to 40 years in prison. His girlfriend has been charged with being an accomplice to murder and assault. She isn't being identified because she's the alleged victim of a sexual assault.