A 34-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his wife earlier this week in a hotel room at the Residence Inn, 7780 Flying Cloud Drive, Eden Prairie.
If convicted, Ryan Charles Rooney, whose address is listed as the extended-stay hotel, faces up to 40 years in prison. Rooney, who is in custody, was also charged with child endangerment in a “situation that could cause harm or death.”
According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court, Eden Prairie police were called to the Residence Inn at 10:57 a.m. Nov. 2 to help hotel staff with a welfare check.
The hotel staff told police the guests had been staying at the hotel for about 20 days and were due to check out on Oct. 31 but didn’t.
Housekeeping checked on the room three times, but the interior security latch was closed during each check they made.
Hotel staff gained entry into the room early Nov. 2. The complaint stated that staff found a small child in a crib and a man “in a fetal position” on the bed. Police were called when staff could not wake the man.
Shortly after officers entered the hotel room, Rooney walked down the stairs from the room’s second level. A small child walked with him.
Officers saw that Rooney had a gunshot wound under his chin and an exit wound to the top of his head, the complaint said.
While checking the room, officers found another small child in a crib in the main-level bedroom. The children were determined to be 1 and 2 years old.
Officers also found two baggies of suspected methamphetamine and noticed a pistol holder on Rooney. Police asked him where the gun was, and he indicated it was upstairs.
Officers checked the second level and located the woman dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the center of her chest.
The county crime lab later located a 9mm Ruger LCP handgun on the second floor. One round was found in the wall behind the woman; a second round was lodged in the ceiling.
The complaint stated that a tray of methamphetamine was found on the toilet in the bathroom, “easily accessible to a small child.”
After being arrested, Rooney told police that he and the woman were the only people inside the hotel room. He also stated that he did not know why he shot her.
The woman’s identity has yet to be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office. Police learned during its investigation that Rooney and the woman were married on Aug. 30.
Rooney, who is in custody, has previous convictions of domestic assault, a violation of an order for protection, assault, felony terroristic threats, and a felony violation of a domestic abuse no-contact order.
His bail has been set at $1 million.
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