MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Minnesota woman Cassandra Dusold, 35, is sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after she killed her mother Dorothy Dusold, 69, by “squeezing her like a python” in 2022.
Cassandra was convicted of second-degree murder on August 4, 2023. During the court hearing on Monday, October 2, Cassandra was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for the crime.
What did Cassandra Dusold do?
Per the court filing written by Scott County Judge Mark Vandelist on September 15, “On January 19, 2022, [Dusold] used her arms to choke her mother, Dorothy Dusold, to the point of unconsciousness.”
The filing continued, “As a result of Defendant’s actions, Dorothy Dusold died days later.”
On the day of the murder, she called the police at 911 to report about an unconscious woman in her home.
When the police arrived at her home in Livery Lane in New Market Township, she told the police that she heard a thud when she was in another room.
The police found Dusold lying unconscious on the bed. She was taken to the hospital and died a few days later.
Cassandra later informed the police that she did not tell the full story and admitted to them that “I’m the thud.”
She also admitted to holding her mother in a chokehold and said she put her arm around her mother’s neck and “squeezed like a python so hard it made her ribs hurt,” per KSTP.
As a result of her chokehold, her mother started bleeding. Cassandra said that once she realized her mother was bleeding, she called 911.
She also admitted that she feels bad about the murder, and knows “it’s not right what transpired, it’s not right at all,” adding she “fully knows right from wrong.”
However, throughout the court proceedings, Cassandra’s mental stability was a matter of contention for the prosecutors.
Is Cassandra Dusold mentally ill?
Vandelist noted in the filing, “It is clear that Defendant is mentally ill,” before adding, “Defendant has suffered from mental illness for many years that may have been much more severe than she, or anyone else, realized due to her symptoms being primarily internal.”
The prosecutors largely debated about Cassandra's suffering from mental health issues including psychosis, paranoia, and delusions, insinuating her inability to understand her surroundings, per Law & Crime.
However, Vandelist dismissed the claim and said that Cassandra was mentally competent and had an understanding of the wrongness of her crime.
He added that her ability to “lie coherently and consistently about what had occurred” soon after chokeholding her mother was an indication that she knew what really transpired.
Vandelist further noted, “Defendant also took action to hide evidence that she was the attacker.”
He added in the filing, “While on the phone with 911, Defendant put on a sweatshirt to cover up the scratches on her arms given to Defendant by her mother during the attack.”
“She kept this sweatshirt on for hours while in the presence of law enforcement officers. She eventually took off the sweatshirt but not until she had told officers the truth about attacking her mother,” continued Vandelist.
Cassandra Dusold will, however, get 622 days of credit for time served.
