The adopted son of one of two slain people is being held at the Mower County Jail to await arraignment.

Monday, February 19, 2001

The adopted son of one of two slain people is being held at the Mower County Jail to await arraignment.

Stacey Benjamin Cotter, 23, the adopted son of homicide victim Richard A. Cotter, was brought to Austin on Saturday from a treatment facility in Minneapolis where he was arrested.

Stacey Cotter has been arrested in connection with the deaths of Richard Cotter, 73, and friend, Mary F. McIntyre, 68, of Baltimore, Md. According to investigators, the two were killed in Cotter’s rural Austin home early Thursday morning before a fire was set to cover the crime.

In accordance with law, Cotter must be arraigned 36 hours after being arrested, which occurred at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. The weekend and today’s holiday, however, are taken into account with the deadline timeframe.

Investigators are continuing their investigation, viewing videotapes of convenience store, gas station and restaurant security cameras in a search for additional information on the whereabouts of Stacey Cotter prior to and following the slayings.

During the hours after the crime and before the arrest, investigators recovered Cotter’s vehicle and "found evidence," including clothing, according to Mower County Sheriff Barry Simonson.

Simonson said the lack of carbon monoxide or soot in the victims’ lungs indicated to the coroner that neither was alive at the time of the fire. Information on the cause of McIntyre’s death has not been released. According to the autopsy, Cotter was stabbed to death.

Richard Cotter’s brother, Michael Cotter, said this morning that a fund is being set up in Richard’s name. The family prefers that donations be made in lieu of food and flowers.

The Richard Cotter Memorial Fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank and donations may be made there. The donations likely will be used for something related to violence, Michael Cotter said.

"We need this to cope," Michael Cotter said of the fund and how the family hopes donations can "make a more lasting impact."

In addition, Michael Cotter said that he intends to continue forward with the Storytelling Festival this coming weekend in Austin and Albert Lea. Michael Cotter is one of the persons who will participate in the storytelling. The events will wrap up in time for the visitation and funeral Mass on Sunday, he added.