In a horrifying multiple-murder, Robert Doan of Mahtowa clubs to death his wife and three of his four children. He also sets fire to the house, killing the remaining child. Doan had "lost his temper" after being fired from his job as a bulldozer operator at the Duluth Williamson-Johnson Municipal Airport and then getting into an argument with his wife. His first trial closes with a 9-3 deadlock because, according to the defense, Doan had signed a confession under extreme duress and he later denied the murders during the trial. At a second trial Doan is sentenced to life imprisonment for second-degree murder.