FILE 608 / 27 June 2025 / 73 MIN / express

Bloody Headless Mess

Shakopee, MinnesotaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

We're going to Shakopee... it's in southeastern Minnesota... This is in Scott County, area code 952. about 0:03:43

History, in brief

Town note

In the 1700s, Chief Shakopee II of the Mdewakanton Dakota established his village on the east end of the area near the water.

about 0:05:16

1851

In 1851 a trader established a trading post and began platting the village, naming it after the chief.

about 0:05:36

1861

The town incorporated and then surrendered its charter in 1861.

about 0:05:46

Town note

It was renamed Jackson Township after Andrew Jackson for a time, then later renamed Shakopee again.

about 0:05:54
All 4 history facts

Town note

In the 1700s, Chief Shakopee II of the Mdewakanton Dakota established his village on the east end of the area near the water.

about 0:05:16

1851

In 1851 a trader established a trading post and began platting the village, naming it after the chief.

about 0:05:36

1861

The town incorporated and then surrendered its charter in 1861.

about 0:05:46

Town note

It was renamed Jackson Township after Andrew Jackson for a time, then later renamed Shakopee again.

about 0:05:54

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$349,900
Median household income$96,473
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2025

Population

"about 45,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:40

Population in 2000

"20,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:42

Population in 1990

"about 8,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:46

Median household income

"$96,473"

Comparison: "almost $30,000 above the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:52

Median home cost

"$349,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:05:00

The reviews

3.3 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“A recent arrival calls it a wonderful, very safe neighbourhood with no negative experiences at all.”
about 0:06:21

3 stars

“Likes the community but wishes there was more to do locally instead of having to drive elsewhere.”
about 0:06:44

2 stars

“Complains that it is Minnesota and they freeze balls all winter, then adds a garbled line about rain, floods and traffic.”
about 0:07:05

In Minnesota

Closest episodes

  1. The Bloodiest Present Under The TreeCrystal, Minnesota · 16 September 202331 km / 19 miShow on map
  2. The No Regrets MurdererMontgomery, Minnesota · 7 August 202637 km / 23 miShow on map
  3. A Garbage Disposal Full Of SecretsCorcoran, Minnesota · 10 September 202038 km / 24 miShow on map
  4. The Office StalkerWoodbury, Minnesota · 3 August 202446 km / 29 miShow on map
  5. A House Of HorrorsLino Lakes, Minnesota · 3 May 201752 km / 32 miShow on map

The story

America Thayer was born in Cuba in 1966 and had lived in the United States for many years by 2021. She was fifty-five that year, held two jobs at the My Pillow factory and at Dollar Tree, and was described by colleagues as soft-spoken and always smiling. She had a son, Charles.

A restraining order was imposed, but Thayer wrote to the court asking for it to be lifted. Later that year he crashed a car while intoxicated, suffered a traumatic brain injury and spent days in a coma; afterwards he reported auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions. By 2018, according to court records, the two were married.

In July 2019 he entered a chemical dependency treatment centre and was discharged four months later. In 2020 a friend warned his probation officer that Thayer would end up dead, but Thayer denied that he was violent. In May 2020 he was hospitalised at Unity Hospital, saying there was a camera in his head and that everyone could hear his thoughts.

On 9 November 2020 he was reported smashing car windows with a baseball bat at the Pullman Club.

In July she texted a friend that he was talking to the voices in his head. At about 2 p.m. the couple were seen at Shakopee Memorial Park in Thayer's Chrysler 300, with him driving.

At 2.31 p.m. a 911 caller reported a man pulling a headless body from a car in the middle of the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Spencer Street. Police found Thayer naked from the waist up, decapitated, her head about a foot from her body. A neighbour filmed part of the attack. A machete sheath was found near the scene, bloody clothing and a knife in a recycling bin a block and a half away, and two days later a dog found a bloodstained machete with blond hair on the blade in a garden near the intersection.

He also said her head came off by accident while they were both pulling a machete that had stuck in an air vent. He was held on bail set at $2.5 million and raised to $4 million.

The case

Murder of America Thayer

Victims

America Thayer (55). from Cuba; worked at the My Pillow factory and Dollar Tree; mother of Charles

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 27 June 2025.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Charles. America's son, who gave a victim impact statement
Faith Howie. America's friend and neighbour
Dr. Lovet. psychiatrist who reviewed the interrogation

The timeline

  1. 1966 America Thayer is born in Cuba (Cuba)about 0:10:11
  2. March 30, 1979 is born in Cuba (Cuba)about 0:12:02
  3. 2007 arrives in the United States from Cubaabout 0:12:05
  4. 2014 America Thayer and begin a relationshipabout 0:19:22
  5. 2017 He is stopped for driving under the influence with a large kitchen knife and an open bottle of rum in the carabout 0:18:45
  6. 2017 crashes a car while intoxicated, suffers a traumatic brain injury and is in a coma for daysabout 0:22:20
  7. 2018 Court records show Thayer and are marriedabout 0:23:56
  8. October 27, 2018 Police are called to Babe's Place about a man with a knife; slips out of his handcuffs and is tackled and recaptured (Babe's Place)about 0:26:09
  9. July 2019 He enters a chemical dependency treatment centre and is discharged four months laterabout 0:33:52
  10. 2020 A friend warns his probation officer that Thayer will end up dead; Thayer denies the abuseabout 0:24:29

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode