Zachary Todd's Terrible Crime

Zachary Todd Anderson pleaded guilty Friday to sexually assaulting and killing 5-year-old Alayna Ertl of Watkins in August 2016. He is spending the rest of his life in prison.

The man who was 27-year-old man from Coon Rapids pleaded guilty to murder and sexual assault in the first degree.

Anderson was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole after pleading guilty during a pre-trial hearing in Cass County District Court in Walker.

Inside The Murder Of 5-year-old Alayna Ertl

Alayna Ertl was 5 years old and from Watkins, Minnesota. She went missing and was later found dead. She was last seen alive around 2 a.m. Central Daylight Time on Saturday, August 20, 2016.

When her parents got up at 8 a.m. that morning, they saw that their daughter, their pickup truck, and the person who had spent the night at their house were all gone. She was reported missing.

Deputies looked all over the neighborhood for Alayna. They also called Anderson's family's cell phone company to try to find out where his car could be as her father's cellphone was inside the truck. When Alayna wasn't found during the search, the sheriff's office in Meeker County called the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for help with the investigation. At 1:12, the police sent out an Amber Alert.

Her father's cell phone in the truck pinged a cell tower in Todd County, Minnesota, giving a hint about where she might be.

Anderson's father called the Cass County sheriff's office dispatch center just before 2 p.m. that day. His father told Cass County officials that he thought his son may be involved with the statewide Amber Alert. He said that his son had called him earlier in the day and asked for permission to go to the family's cabin near Motley in Cass County. Anderson's father let the police into his property and cabin to help them look for his son.

Cass County sheriff's deputies went to the cabin and saw the white roof of the stolen truck in a ravine at the southwest end of the property. The car was pulled into the ravine and into a brushy/wooded area. There was no one in the car. The officers then went up to the cabin to try to find Anderson and Alayna.

Officers went into the unlocked cabin, but there was no one there. But a single-shot 20-gauge shotgun with a lot of loose 20-gauge rounds was sitting on the kitchen table in plain sight. They also saw a lot of 12-gauge rounds, but they didn't see any 12-gauge shotguns.

There was also what looked like a suicide note with blood on the top corner on the table. The truck's keys were also on the tableWhen more police showed up, they saw recent foot prints going past the cabin and into the woods to the north and southwest of the truck, respectively. Two places where it looked like people had recently walked into the woods were searched by police dogs. 

At 4:23 p.m. on August 20, 2016, officers found Anderson in a swampy area where he was knee-deep in water. Officers could see that Anderson had new cuts on his left wrist. Anderson was taken into custody.

He eventually led them to Alayna's body, which was completely submerged in water.

An autopsy showed signs of a sexual assault, and the cause of death was found to be strangulation and a blow to the head.

The Court Trial

Anderson told the details of the crime in court, in front of his family and the police, as he admitted his guilt.

In October 2016, a grand jury found Anderson guilty of killing Ertl and sentenced him to life in prison

Anderson has been in the Crow Wing County Jail in Brainerd, but was sent to a state prison to serve his life sentence.

The End!

Further Reading and References

Alayna Ertl: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Coon Rapids man pleads guilty to abducting, raping, murdering friend’s 5-year-old daughter

Man Charged in Murder of Friend's 5-Year-Old Daughter Allegedly Sexually Assaulted Her and Left Suicide Note