1/16/2013: UPDATE: Goodhue County man faces first-degree attempted murder charges

A 26-year-old Goodhue County man is accused of attempting to kill his wife's coworker with a hammer early Monday morning.

Jonathan Lee Closner entered his wife’s residence at 106 E. Jefferson Drive in Zumbrota and hit Daniel David Yennie, 20, in the head twice, according to a complaint filed in Goodhue County District Court Tuesday.

Closner faces multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree attempted premeditated murder, one count of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and first-degree burglary.

Police were called to the residence at about 4:45 a.m. and found Yennie in a bedroom unconscious and seizing. They also found a “large amount of blood all over the bed and wall.”

Closner’s wife, Amanda, told police that she and Jonathan Closner were going through a separation. She said Jonathan Closner found out that she was having a relationship with Yennie and had been “a little upset and all crazy,” the complaint says.

Police later found a carpenter’s hammer in the woods near the residence.

Closner admitted to police late Monday morning that he entered the residence using his key and grabbed a hammer from a tool box in the entry way, the complaint states. He said he “grabbed the hammer to scare Yennie.” Closner said he struck Yennie in the head when he found Yennie in the bedroom with Amanda Closner.

Yennie was transported by Mayo One helicopter. Initial reports from Mayo Clinic stated that Yennie was in a coma, has a “significant” injury to the left side of his head, swelling on the brain and bone matter penetrating the brain, the complaint states.

Closner was arrested early Monday and booked into the Goodhue County Adult Detention Center on second-degree assault charges. He was formally charged late Tuesday.

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