St. Paul man charged with strangling priest to death on the side of I-94

A St. Paul man is facing murder charges after he allegedly strangled a priest to death on the side of Interstate 94, claiming voices in his head told him to.

Nathan Thomas Wondra, 32, was charged with one count of 2nd-degree murder in Ramsey County Court earlier this week. Wondra is accused of killing 76-year-old Lawrence Johnson.

On Thursday at around 12:40 p.m., Wondra called 911 and stated that he was having a psychotic break and had choked an elderly man, according to the criminal complaint. The man, who Wondra said was a priest, had reportedly not been breathing for 30 minutes.

A state trooper found Wondra on the side of I-94 near Prior Avenue. There, Wondra stated that he had just murdered Johnson and that he had been hearing voices and having visions for the past five days.

Johnson was taken to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that Johnson’s cause of death was strangulation.

In an interview with investigators, Wondra said he had met Johnson at his work a year ago and that the two had become friends. Wondra said he had asked Johnson to take him to the hospital on Thursday.

As the two were driving, Wondra said he told Johnson to pull over. He then proceeded to strangle Johnson. Wondra stated that voices in his head told him to do so and that it was his “last chance to save humanity.”