A Duluth man has been sentenced to 261 months in prison following the Nathan Davin murder sentence handed down on 16 July 2026 in St. Louis County District Court, after he shot his 74-year-old mother in the face as she slept in a recliner and then appeared on a neighbour’s doorstep covered in blood.
Judge Leslie E. Beiers presided over the hearing, according to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office. The sentence of 21 and three-quarter years falls within the presumptive guideline range under Minnesota law for second-degree murder.
The Nathan Davin Murder Sentence and What the Court Heard
Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Kirstyn Oye told the court that MaeDean Davin, 74, was ‘positioned in her recliner in a way that indicated she was sleeping’ when her son attacked her on the night of 16 August 2025, FOX 9 reported. Nathan Davin, then 46 and now 47, is believed to have shot her in the face and caved her head in with a blunt object, exposing part of her brain.
A blood-covered Glock 9mm was later recovered from a nightstand, with ammunition matching the shell casings found downstairs. Investigators also found that Davin had spray-painted what were described as ‘satanic’ symbols and words throughout the interior of the house, including the phrase ‘go to hell.’
Davin was found on the front porch of his mother’s home when Duluth Police Department officers arrived at the 1500 block of North 9th Avenue East. He told officers he had woken to find ‘my mom f, ing dead.’ A probable cause statement described a ‘devastating gunshot wound to her face’ and noted that a ‘significant amount of blood was on [the] victim’s shirt and the recliner.’
Before police arrived, Davin had knocked on a neighbour’s door wearing nothing but boxer shorts and told them someone had died. He also called a second neighbour, saying: ‘My mom’s dead. She blew her head off.’ Once placed in a police vehicle, he was recorded saying ‘wake up to bulls, ‘ and ‘there went my life’ before admitting the truth in an interview room: ‘God d, it. I killed my mother.’
A Norgaard Plea and a Claim of Blackout
Nathan Davin pleaded guilty on 8 June 2026, entering what Minnesota courts recognise as a Norgaard Plea: an acknowledgement that, whilst he could not recall committing the crime, he accepted that the evidence would likely secure a conviction. In written court documents filed on 4 June 2026, Davin stated: ‘I do not remember because I had drank to the point of blackout,’ Fox 21 Online reported. Officers who spoke with him on the night of the killing noted he appeared to be drunk.
MaeDean Davin was described in court as a longtime employee of AMSOIL Oil who also worked at Summit School. St. Louis County Attorney Kim Maki said: ‘No sentence from the Court today can erase the pain of losing a valuable member of our community and a loved one, particularly at the hands of a family member. This sentence ensures that Mr. Davin is held accountable and reflects the gravity of his actions.’
Davin received 333 days of credit for time already served at the St. Louis County Jail, WDIO reported. The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office credited the Duluth Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for their investigative work on the case.
Subject to any onward appeal, Davin will not be eligible for supervised release until he has served the substantial majority of his 261-month term. With the jail credit applied, his earliest possible release date falls in the mid-2040s. The St. Louis County case now stands as one of the longest sentences arising from a domestic homicide prosecuted in the county in recent years.
