Man Charged with Murder After Deadly Beating in Burnsville Park
A Burnsville man has been charged after police say he beat a 59-year-old man to death with the victim’s walking sticks during a violent overnight assault in a city park.
Michael Lual Nhial, 21, is accused of killing David Stuart Chant in Interlachen Park during the early morning hours of May 3, 2025.
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Chant’s mother called 911 around 8:10 a.m. that morning after finding her son unresponsive under a picnic table in the park, which is next to her residence. She told dispatchers her son had blood around his head, was cold to the touch and partially under the table.
Burnsville police and paramedics arrived within minutes, but life-saving efforts were unsuccessful. Chant was pronounced dead at 8:20 a.m. Responders noted swelling to his head, mouth and eye, along with two broken and bent walking sticks nearby that his mother confirmed he used for medical reasons.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later ruled Chant died of blunt force trauma to the head and classified the death as a homicide.
As police searched the area around Chant’s body, they found a pair of tennis shoes and a boxed car alternator in the well of a porta-potty. Red stains on one shoe tested positive for blood, and DNA matched it to Chant. Grey hairs stuck to the bottom of one shoe also matched the color of the victim’s hair.
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Just over 90 minutes after Chant was found, Nhial’s mother called 911 and reported her son missing and possibly in danger. She said he had left their nearby apartment from midnight to 2 a.m. and had been increasingly aggressive at home, including a recent incident in March where he damaged property and assaulted a responding officer.
Police reviewed body camera footage from that March call, as well as video from a separate incident on March 17, and noticed Nhial was wearing shoes that matched those recovered from the porta potty.
Surveillance footage from the night of the killing showed Nhial moving through his apartment complex’s garage at 12:19 a.m., looking into vehicle windows. He was wearing shoes consistent with the ones found near the scene. At 12:28 a.m., he was seen exiting the garage. Around 1:10 a.m., he was caught on camera outside a tobacco store near the park, again wearing the same shoes. Minutes later, he was seen at a nearby liquor store.
Video from his apartment complex at 1:33 a.m. showed Nhial walking through the parking lot. He entered the vestibule and opened a package similar to the one later found in the porta-potty. He then left with the box and was still wearing the same shoes.
Another video camera overlooking the area where Chant was later found also captured audio. Between 1:43 and 1:53 a.m., thumping sounds and two voices were heard. One voice—believed to be Chant—yelled, “Hey. Give me my cane back, God d***it!” followed by the sound of slapping and a voice crying out in pain. A second voice responded, “Why are you f***ing running?” Additional thumping and pained cries continued before a loud slamming sound—consistent with a porta-potty door—was heard.
At 2:04 a.m., someone matching Nhial’s appearance and clothing was seen walking back through the apartment complex parking lot. No additional noise came from the area where Chant was found.
Nhial was later arrested on an unrelated offense. In a recorded jail call, he told someone he had “knocked out” a man at the park the weekend before his arrest. In a separate call, he claimed a man had grabbed his “a**” and that he “beat up” the man in response.
Nhial is charged with second-degree murder without premeditation. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Nhail has been in custody on unrelated charges since May and is expected to make an initial court appearance for the new charges on Monday.
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