Grandchildren Allegedly Killed Man Because They Mistakenly Believed He'd Harmed Their Grandma

An elderly woman's grandchildren, accused of shooting a man in the face over the mistaken belief he had harmed their grandmother, made their first appearance in court on Monday, according to reports.

Malcolm Jammal Woods, 27, and Kielah Shanae Parsons, 34, now each face second-degree murder charges in the death of 38-year-old Brandon Arndt, who was fatally shot on Sept. 10 after opening the door of his mobile home parked in a Rochester, Minnesota, trailer park, local newspaper the Post Bulletin reports. Additionally, 19-year-old Darien Kristopher Klindworth-Woods also faces second-degree murder charges, according to jail records. 

While a warrant for Klindworth-Woods' arrest has been issued, he is currently being held in Blue Earth County over a different incident, according to the Post Bulletin.

All three suspects are the woman's grandchildren; Woods and Klindworth-Woods are thought to be half-brothers, while Parsons is their cousin, according to The Free Press, a local South-Central Minnesota publication.

Just two days before the shooting, Arndt had checked in on his elderly neighbor, who was the suspects’ grandmother, and had gotten her some water and her prescription pill pack, the Associated Press reports.

The victim had reportedly helped the woman since she had moved into the mobile home park a month before.

However, after the woman fell ill and was later taken to the hospital, others mistakenly thought Arndt may have harmed her.

Shortly after she was sent to the hospital, six men reportedly confronted Arndt and accused him of giving the woman illegal drugs, according to AP.

Police later spoke with the woman, however, and don't believe Ardnt did anything wrong.

“There were assumptions made in how this medical condition occurred, and from that we have a tragic set of circumstances that unfolded,” Rochester Police Capt. John Sherwin told AP.

During the early hours of September 10, surveillance footage allegedly shows Woods, Parsons and Klindworth-Woods leaving the hospital where their grandmother was staying, according to AP. Authorities say the three then drove to a convenience store where Parsons is seen buying snacks and taking extra plastic bags—“more than were needed for the items she purchased,” the complaint viewed by AP said.

The trio then reportedly went to the mobile home park, where Woods allegedly put the plastic bags on his hands and feet and then shot Arndt at his home. A suspect can be seen in surveillance footage wearing plastic bags on his feet and fleeing the scene of the crime, according to the complaint.

Woods was given a $2 million unconditional bond, after Assistant Olmsted County Attorney Eric Woodford argued that he could be a flight risk. He called circumstances around the killing "as serious as they can be," according to the Post Bulletin.

Parsons, meanwhile, was given a lower bond of $500,000.

“She did not pull the trigger but helped in other ways,” Woodford said of her role in the crime.

[Photos: Olmsted County Adult Detention Center]