Prosecutors have charged Allison Lussier’s ex-boyfriend in her death more than 2½ years after the 47-year-old was found dead in her Minneapolis apartment, a case that put the Minneapolis Police Department’s handling of domestic violence calls under a microscope.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Charles Henry Foss, 36, Thursday with one count of second-degree unintentional murder and one count of stalking, according to CBS Minnesota. Foss is already serving a 105-month prison sentence tied to a July 2024 standoff with police, KSTP reported.
Lussier, a Native American woman, had reported abuse by Foss to police again and again before her death. A city audit released in April found that Lussier and people close to her contacted police 12 times.
What the charges allege
According to the criminal complaint, Lussier and Foss had an on-again, off-again relationship for about three years. Court records show the abuse dates back to at least March 2021, when Lussier obtained an order of protection after Foss punched her, bit her and cut her with a screwdriver, KSTP reported.
The violence escalated in February 2024. On Feb. 13, the caretaker at Lussier’s building called police after Lussier ran back to her unit shirtless and shaken, saying Foss had punched her in the head, forced her to undress and choked her. Officers talked with Lussier but couldn’t find Foss.
Late on Feb. 16, Lussier called police to say Foss was in her apartment. Officers removed him and told him not to come back, but they didn’t arrest him. The city’s review later found the call came in about 30 minutes after the 72-hour window to arrest him for the earlier assault had expired, according to KSTP. Hours later, the caretaker traded texts with Lussier for the last time.
On Feb. 18, Lussier and Foss texted back and forth for several hours. In one message, Lussier wrote, “If u cant come home and be cool just stay away. i love u and i also love myself enough to just forget about everything n move forward with our relationship so please if you cant just let me go n ill do the same.”
That afternoon, Lussier spoke with her sister by phone for the last time. A couple of hours later, Foss called Lussier from a friend’s phone to say he was coming over, and she told him she was home. About an hour after that call, Lussier tried calling her sister several times. No one answered.
On Feb. 19, the caretaker slipped a maintenance notice under Lussier’s door. On Feb. 22, the caretaker saw the paper hadn’t moved. She and the building manager went inside and found Lussier’s body.
The cause-of-death question
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office initially could not determine a manner of death. The autopsy found Lussier had an acute subdural hematoma, a bleed on the brain, and likely died soon after the injury. Fentanyl and methamphetamine were also in her system.
Those drugs shaped the early public narrative. Then-Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara drew criticism for publicly emphasizing that Lussier had a “massive” amount of drugs in her system. O’Hara said in 2025 that he took responsibility for the pain the statement caused her family, CBS Minnesota reported.
The criminal complaint now cites the brain injury as the cause of death. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Thursday that drugs were not a factor and that O’Hara’s repeated public claims of an overdose were wrong. “That was not true,” she said.
Alleged admissions
The complaint says Foss told several people around the time of Lussier’s death that he had killed her. At a homeless encampment where he was staying, he allegedly said, “I think I killed that b—- this time.”
The day after Lussier’s unanswered calls to her sister, a witness told investigators Foss showed up wearing a wig and said police might be looking for him because he may have beaten someone to death. Foss left a cellphone with that witness. Investigators later determined it was Lussier’s.
Why the charge took so long
Police sent the case to prosecutors in June 2024, but the county attorney’s office said the file was deficient and didn’t support charges. A team of prosecutors, investigators and victim services staff then dug back into the case. Moriarty credited Lussier’s family and community for keeping it in the public eye and said it took time to build trust with witnesses.
In the meantime, Foss landed in prison on a separate case. On July 30, 2024, police spotted him driving a stolen car. He fled, rammed a squad car and then ran into a home, where he threatened the people inside with a knife, according to KSTP. After an hourslong standoff, officers found him in a closet with a self-inflicted cut to his neck. He had written “sorry” in blood on the door, along with a heart containing the letter A twice. He was later convicted and is serving his sentence at the state prison in Faribault, Fox 9 reported.
What the audit found
The Minneapolis City Council ordered an audit of the police response after Lussier’s death drew public outcry. The city auditor’s April report identified 22 issues with how the city handled the case. Only a few of Lussier’s calls led to an investigation, and none led to criminal charges. Auditors also found investigators missed the elements of stalking, which could have given officers grounds to arrest Foss.
What’s next
Moriarty said last week that Foss would likely be brought to Minneapolis this week for his first court appearance. If convicted of the murder charge, he faces up to 40 years in prison. Foss is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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