![Guilty Plea by Zumbro Falls Area Man For Murder of His Father](http://townsquare.media/site/669/files/2021/06/James-Edward-Riley.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Guilty Plea by Zumbro Falls Area Man For Murder of His Father
![Fun 104 logo](https://townsquare.media/site/720/files/2021/09/attachment-512.jpg?w=100)
Wabasha, MN (KROC-AM News) - A rural Zumbro Falls man today entered into a plea agreement and admitted to a second-degree murder charge for the death.
In exchange for the guilty plea, the Wabasha County Attorney dropped the first-degree murder charge that was brought against 46-year-old James Riley by the Grand Jury that investigated the case last August. Riley is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19 and the plea deal calls for a 36-year prison term.
According to the criminal complaint, Riley admitted to investigators that he struck his father on the head with a hammer multiple times and stabbed him with a knife at the family's farm southeast of Zumbro Falls on March 5 of last year. After the deadly attack, Riley told investigators used a tractor to lift and carry the body of 73-year-old Edward Riley and place it in the trunk of a car before he covered the remains with the tarp.
The court document says Riley's mother later located her husband's body after she noticed his car was parked in a strange location and decided to check the trunk. She told investigators the two men had a strained relationship and her son had expressed a desire to kill his father.
$25,000 Rewards Offered in Two Rochester Cold Case Murder Investigations
More From Fun 104
![MnDOT Orders Inspections After Excavator Hits I-90 Bridges](http://townsquare.media/site/669/files/2022/05/attachment-Highway-76-under-I-901.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![JM Graduate Leaving White House to Work For City of Rochester](http://townsquare.media/site/669/files/2022/05/attachment-Kyle_Mirehouse.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Republican Party State Convention Underway in Rochester](http://townsquare.media/site/669/files/2022/05/attachment-Mayo-Civic-Center.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Original ‘Married… With Children’ Cast to Reunite For Animated Revival](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2016/06/mwc-revival-pic.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Norm Macdonald Made a Secret Standup Special Before His Death](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2021/09/attachment-norm-macdonald-1-2-3.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Rochester Teenager Sentenced to Probation For Arson Conviction](http://townsquare.media/site/669/files/2022/05/attachment-Lawrence-Johnson.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![9 Mammoth Cruise Ships Are Set to Dock in Minnesota This Summer](http://townsquare.media/site/719/files/2022/05/attachment-Cruise-Ships-MN.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Fred Ward, Star of ‘Tremors’ and ‘The Right Stuff,’ Dies at 79](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2022/05/attachment-GettyImages-83632640.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Killed by Toppled Grain Bin During Storm in Central Minnesota](http://townsquare.media/site/669/files/2022/04/attachment-RS25708_GettyImages-498887042-scr.jpg?w=980&q=75)