Bruce Christenson, age 29, of Hibbing pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Carl Moyle, age 28, of Elk River.

Christenson beat Moyle to death in the Sherburne County Jail where Moyle was sleeping in an adjacent cell after being arrested for repeatedly having no vehicle insurance. The incident occurred  in August of 2006.

Christenson had been transferred to the jail from Oak Park Heights, a maximum security prison.

The Moyle family has sued Sherburne County for negligence. The federal lawsuit is against the county and its sheriff, seeking more than $30 million in damages for not holding Christenson in a high-security area of the jail instead of the general population.

According to the Wednesday, May 7 Star Tribune, ìbefore being sentenced Tuesday, Christenson testified that he took three hours to get the handrail off the wall with the intent of killing somebody. He said he didnít target Moyle. ëIf he wasnít there, it would have been someone else,í he said. He also apologized ëfor what I did,í to Moyleís family members sitting in the courtroom.î

Moyleís family and friends also gave statements at the sentencing.

Christenson was sentenced to serve at least 30 years in prison before he will be eligible for parole. He has been incarcerated in the mental health unit of Oak Park Heights and has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, according to the Star Tribune. 

photo captions
--Bruce Christenson pled guilty to the murder of Carl Edward Moyle on May 6, 2008. 

--Carl Edward Moyle, son of Larry and Clara Moyle of rural Eagle Bend, was killed while in custody at the Sherburne County Jail on August 8, 2006.