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Two charged in Onamia teen's death

Authorities have charged two Onamia, Minn.-area men with murder in the second degree in connection with the death of an Onamia teenager. A search party found the body of William Anthony Nickaboine, 19, partly burned in a wooded area near Timber T...

Authorities have charged two Onamia, Minn.-area men with murder in the second degree in connection with the death of an Onamia teenager.

A search party found the body of William Anthony Nickaboine, 19, partly burned in a wooded area near Timber Trail Road in Onamia on Friday evening.

Nickaboine, a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, had disappeared on July 17.

On Saturday, authorities arrested Joshua Simon Boyd, 20, and Aaron James Beaulieu, also 20, in connection with the death of Nickaboine. Boyd was charged with two counts of murder in the second degree Tuesday in district court in Milaca. Beaulieu is charged with counts of aiding and abetting murder in the second degree. Bail for each man was set at $800,000 without conditions or $500,000 with conditions. Each is scheduled to next appear in court on Aug. 2.

According to criminal complaints against the two:

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Witnesses reported seeing Beaulieu and Boyd beating Nickaboine up at a residence early on July 17. One witness saw Beaulieu punch Nickaboine several times and Boyd kick him in the back and stomp on his head.

Nothing in the complaint explained what led to the alleged violence.

Another witness later saw the Boyd and Beaulieu walk out of a wooded area. Boyd had what appeared to be blood on his T-shirt, the complaint said.

A search of court records for the two found two past criminal complaints with five counts against Boyd. His most serious conviction was for a misdemeanor count of fleeing a peace officer.

Court records found 14 past criminal complaints with 29 separate counts -- including 11 counts for assault -- against Beaulieu.

Nickaboine also had a criminal record, with five criminal complaints containing eight separate counts. The most recent complaint, filed June 11, charged him with a felony count of making terroristic threats and a misdemeanor assault charge. It's not known whether the two cases are connected.

Steve Kuchera is a retired Duluth News Tribune photographer.
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