Levi Axtell, 27, has been charged with second-degree intentional murder in the death of Lawrence V. Scully, 77. According to a criminal complaint, Axtell killed Scully by beating him with a shovel and a large moose antler.
The Cook County Sheriff’s office received a call from Axtell himself, who walked into the lobby covered in blood and stated that he had murdered Scully. Upon arriving at Scully’s home, police found him dead from the severe nature of his head wounds.
Axtell had known Scully for some time and believed him to have a past of sexually offending children. In 2018, Axtell sought an order of protection claiming that Scully had been stalking his 22-month-old daughter and other children, watching them from his van outside the daycare she attended.
The order was granted temporarily but then dismissed. Axtell told law enforcement that he had hit Scully 15 to 20 times with a shovel and then “finished him off” with several blows from the moose antler.
Scully had been convicted in 1979 in Kanabec County, Minnesota, of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl. He was released from prison in 1982. There had been allegations against Scully since then, but an investigation did not reveal anything, and most reports were regarding harassment.
Many Twitter users have commented on the case with one saying, “Tried to go legal route by getting a order of protection. It was granted, then dismissed weeks later. Took matters into his own hands and killed the pedophile to protect his 22 month old child who was being stalked. Free Him.”
A GoFundMe account has also been set up by Axtell’s sister to help financially provide care for his daughter and family with 10% of the proceeds going to benefit victims of childhood sexual abuse. The account page stated, “Levi Axtell, a young father from Grand Marais, Minnesota, faces up to 40 years in prison after taking the life of Larry Scully, a convicted child sex offender who had been accused of stalking Levi’s daughter outside her daycare.”
Axtell’s bail has been set at $1 million. He is slated to appear in court on April 13th”.
