A Milbank man pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of first degree murder. 57-year-old Brent Monroe Hanson pleaded guilty as part of an agreement with prosecutors in exchange for not seeking the death penalty.
Three alternate counts of second degree murder were dismissed.
Hanson admitted to murdering his brother Clyde Hanson, his wife Jessica and their unborn child. Hanson told police he quote “snapped’ when he attacked Clyde with a baseball bat and his sister-in-law with a machete.
The incident occurred on December 12th 2021 at a residential property the two brothers owned. The couple’s bodies were found three days later by police conducting a welfare check.
Brent Hanson had a previous scuffle with the couple six months before their deaths when he was arrested and charged with Misdemeanor Assault and Domestic Violence. He allegedly pushed around the couple after an argument over the care for Jessica Hanson’s dog.
He will spend the rest of his life in the South Dakota State Penitentiary.
