Wife of slain National Guard sergeant faces trial

Published 9:59 am Friday, May 16, 2014

ST. PAUL — Prosecutors say a woman accused of planning her husband’s killing had used claims of abuse to convince another man to shoot him. Heather Horst, 25, is on trial for murder. Prosecutors say she orchestrated the “coldly calculated execution” of her husband, National Guard Staff Sgt. Brandon Horst, last August.

Twenty-six-year-old Aaron Allen of South St. Paul, has already pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.During opening statements Thursday, prosecutors said Heather Horst manipulated Allen and offered him insurance money to kill her husband while he slept.