Officials identify murder victim from last week in St. Paul, but remain silent on cause of death

Police on Tuesday identified the man who was killed in his St. Paul home last week.

Andrew J. Gutzman, 37, suffered what police Sergeant Mike Ernster called “some trauma” in his apartment in the 900 block of Hatch Avenue on Friday.

Ernster declined to provide further details about Gutzman’s death late Tuesday afternoon in order to “preserve the integrity of the investigation.”

No arrests were announced.

Jim Gutzman, Andrew’s father, said police have not told him anything about the circumstances of the murder.

“Andrew was a kind, generous child of God,” Gutzman said, reading from his son’s obituary. “He loved nature and was most at home in it. He shared laughter and love everywhere he went. This is a devastating loss.”

According to Ernster and a neighbor, Sean Devaney, a woman began running up and down an alley around 7:30 a.m., screaming that a man wasn’t breathing. The woman was taken to the police station for questioning. Officials have not disclosed her relationship to Gutzman.

Officers entered the home, found Gutzman unconscious and encountered an aggressive dog. Ernster said the dog was shot after it bit an officer. Paramedics pronounced Gutzman dead at the scene.

At some point, Devaney said, he heard a gunshot.

“After the shot was fired, sirens sounded everywhere,” he said.

According to Ernster, police have been called to the house 25 times this year alone, often for domestic disturbances and property crimes.

Devaney said Gutzman often had a partner visit him. He said he had frequently heard screaming and other disturbances there in recent years.