45-year-old Faces Murder Charges in Brown County After 2 Found Dead

Nov 3

A man accused of killing two people in Hanska early Sunday is now charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

The charges come just months after he was charged in a Brown County stalking case.

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According to the criminal complaint, deputies responded to a home in Hanska around 4:22 a.m. Nov. 2 after a juvenile reported that his mother’s ex-boyfriend, 45-year-old Randy Thomas Zimmerman, broke into their home and shot her in the face. Deputies arrived to find two adults—a man and a woman—dead in an upstairs bedroom with apparent gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators recovered two spent shotgun shells at the scene.

The juvenile told investigators he recognized Zimmerman standing near the stairs with a long gun and heard him yell, “you f****** b****, gave you a chance,” before firing. The juvenile said Zimmerman then pointed the gun at him and told him to go back to his room. Moments later, Zimmerman reportedly texted another witness around 4:28 a.m. saying he “shot them both.”

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Zimmerman’s whereabouts were initially unknown, and a nationwide warrant was issued for his arrest. Authorities later confirmed he was taken into custody in Iowa. He remains jailed on $5 million bail awaiting extradition and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

Court records show Zimmerman was also charged in July with six felony counts of stalking in a Brown County case. In that case, New Ulm police met with a victim at the courthouse who reported Zimmerman followed and repeatedly called her more than 90 times in a single day, left voicemails and waited outside her workplace. The woman told officers she was afraid to stay at her apartment because Zimmerman had a key and that she once woke to find him standing over her. He was charged with six counts of felony stalking.

PREVIOUSLY: Hanska Double-Murder Suspect Arrested in Iowa

Zimmerman posted a $2,500 cash bond in the stalking case and had conditions of release, including no contact with the alleged victim or victims, remaining law-abiding and a prohibition from using or possessing firearms or dangerous weapons.

Court records show that Zimmerman has several prior criminal convictions spanning more than two decades. He was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in Dec. 2024, and another misdemeanor domestic assault conviction was entered in Dec. 2023. In 2018, Zimmerman was convicted of felony third-degree burglary. He also has a 2015 misdemeanor assault conviction and a 2013 felony first-degree burglary conviction. Earlier cases include a 2002 conviction for third-degree assault and multiple driving-while-impaired convictions dating back to 2000 and 2001.

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