Attorney files to withdraw from murder case over family statements

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) - The attorney representing a murder suspect in Minot said the suspect’s family advised him to assault her, and she no longer wants to represent him, according to court records.

Breanna Delorme, the attorney assigned to 30-year-old Shawnee Krall, filed a motion with the courts on Sept. 6.

In the motion, Delorme cited a breakdown in communication between her and her client, adding, “It has been brought to my attention that Mr. Krall has been instructed to assault me in order to be provided new counsel.”

In response, prosecutor Tiffany Sorgen said the state did not object to Delorme’s motion to withdraw.

In the filing, Sorgen said the state had become aware of a jail call between Krall and his mother regarding assaulting Delorme, that “was sent to defense counsel out of an abundance of caution and concern for counsel’s safety.”

Krall faces an AA felony murder charge in the Dec. 2020 killing of his former roommate, 29-year-old Alice Queirolo, in Minot.

In a separate filing in August, a chief deputy with the Ward County Sheriff’s office filed a letter to the court, expressing concerns over allowing Krall a furlough to attend a family member’s funeral.

In the letter, the chief deputy wrote that he heard a jail call on Aug. 8 between Krall and his mother, where the chief deputy said Krall indicated he would assault members of the sheriff’s office and the prosecution and flee the courtroom if he were to lose the case.

Your News Leader reached out to Delorme and Sorgen for comment on the motion to withdraw but did not immediately hear back.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday morning in the district court in Minot.

If the courts were to keep the trial dates as-is, jury selection would begin Monday.

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