Grand Jury Returns Murder Indictment in Deadly St. Cloud Poisoning

Oct 3

A Stearns County grand jury has indicted a 35-year-old man accused of fatally poisoning his roommate with thallium earlier this year.

According to court records, Stuart William Hanmer of Fridley was indicted Oct. 2 on first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder.

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Investigators say Hanmer’s roommate, 33-year-old Cody Ray Ernst, began suffering severe symptoms in mid-May. He experienced vomiting, seizures, chest and abdominal pain, and eventually lost feeling in his hands, feet and lips. Despite multiple hospital visits and transfers, his condition worsened. On June 15, doctors ran a heavy metal screening that revealed lethal levels of thallium, and Ernst died a week later on June 22.

The investigation uncovered that Hanmer had moved into the St. Cloud home with Ernst in early May. Detectives later found extensive internet searches on his phone about thallium, its toxicity, and how to crystallize it into a compound. Between April 4 and April 6, records show Hanmer purchased multiple quantities of thallium online, delivered to a P.O. box registered in his name. One shipment was signed for by Hanmer on May 14, a day before Ernst first reported becoming seriously ill.

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Additional searches continued through May 15, including questions about how much thallium was lethal, how long it remained in the body, and whether symptoms could come and go. Investigators also recovered a video tutorial on creating thallium sulfate, which Hanmer reportedly viewed multiple times. One segment of the video stated the process could yield enough poison to kill 15 people.

PREVIOUSLY: Suspect Arrested After Roommate Fatally Poisoned with Thallium

On June 19, University of Minnesota Police notified St. Cloud Police of the toxicology results and a homicide investigation was launched. Ernst’s fiancée told police she arrived at the home on May 16 to find him unresponsive and performed CPR before he was taken to the hospital. She said he had been with Hanmer the day before when he first fell ill.

Hanmer was arrested Sept. 3 and remains in custody under a detention order. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces life in prison without the possibility of release. He made an initial appearance on Thursday on the new indictment where bail was increased to $5 million.

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