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Man Allegedly Confesses To Strangling, Beating Girlfriend To Death Before Texting Her Ex
Michael Munger allegedly told authorities that he "did what he did" after he and victim Lynnie Loucks fought about infidelity. He'd had a documented history of domestic violence in other relationships.
A man is accused of strangling his girlfriend with a belt and beating her with a baseball bat and then texting her ex-husband to confess.
Michael Lowell Munger, 53, was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder for the death of his partner, Lynnie Ann Loucks, 43, according to the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office.
On Thursday, Loucks’ ex-husband asked authorities to perform a welfare check at Munger and Loucks’ shared home in an unincorporated area north of Brainerd, Missouri.
Munger had sent the ex-husband a text saying Loucks was “gone,” per the criminal complaint.
When deputies arrived, they found Munger in the driveway with blood on his body and clothes, court records show. Munger allegedly told deputies something to the effect of, “You’re too late; she’s gone.”
Munger was arrested on the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officials found Loucks’ body in a basement bedroom in the residence, lying in a pool of her own blood with a belt around her neck.
An official cause of death has yet to be determined.
Following his arrest, Munger allegedly confessed to authorities that he'd beat his girlfriend with a baseball bat and that he “did what he did” after the couple fought over infidelity.
Munger said he and Loucks had been in a relationship for one year, but court records show that Munger had a history of domestic violence with other people before the couple moved in together.
In July 2015, Munger was convicted on charges of terroristic threats and reckless disregard of risk after officers with the Breezy Point City Police Department responded to a domestic incident involving Munger and his then-partner, named in the probable cause affidavit only by her initials “CD.” The victim was granted an emergency no-contact order.
Munger failed to appear in court for the order and continued sending threatening text messages and calling C.D. at her workplace.
“I don’t care about your restraining order; I’m going to kill you,” Munger allegedly said in one call. “I’m going to kill you.”
C.D. reported that she believed Munger had continued to call her from his sister’s phone, often just breathing on the other line.
“Based upon information and belief, a suspicious male was observed in the area of the defendant’s residence but ran away when he was seen by CD’s child,” according to the affidavit by the Pequot Lakes Police Department. “After the male ran away, it was discovered that a can full of gasoline had been left at CD’s residence.”
Authorities could not locate Munger after the incident but found him three months later after Munger left a bar in Breezy Point. Officers initially pulled him over for speeding but, when asked about violating his restraining order, Munger told authorities that the protected party knew better than to “poke a bear.”
He added that she was “going to bring this on herself.”
Munger also threatened to “look up” the officer on the scene, indicating that a cop’s goal should be to end his shift and go home alive.
“[The officer] felt threatened by the defendant’s statements and felt the defendant was trying to intimidate him,” according to the affidavit.
Munger was arrested for stalking with intent to injure and other traffic violations. The stalking charge was later dismissed.
In 2016, another person reported that Munger violated a separate restraining order after he allegedly tried adding her as a friend on Facebook, something he was explicitly barred from doing.
Those court records show that Munger had also pleaded guilty to felony harassment or “threaten to kill” charges and had previously pleaded guilty in 2011 in Washington state for gross misdemeanor domestic violence.
The events precipitating the restraining order that Munger violated in 2016 were not clear.
Loucks’ death marks the eighth confirmed victim of intimate partner violence in the state since the start of 2020, according to Violence Free Minnesota.
Munger is being held at the Crow Wing County Jail on one count of second-degree murder with intent/not premeditated and one count of second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony. He is expected to appear in court on May 12.
