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Prosecutors reject self-defence claim in cold case killing of Gary Herbst
Austin Herbst shares the 'barbaric' details of his father’s final moments
The investigation into the 2013 disappearance and subsequent 2020 murder conviction of Austin and Connie Herbst has revealed a decade of hidden domestic turmoil and a calculated cover-up.
The case remained cold until 2020, when a skull discovered by a dog in rural Wisconsin was identified as Gary Herbst through the work of genetic genealogists.
This breakthrough led detectives to Gary’s former home in Minnesota, where neighbours described the deceased as a "horrible" and "evil" individual who frequently harassed those around him.
The formal inquiry quickly focused on Gary’s wife, Connie, and their son, Austin, following a series of conflicting statements and physical evidence discovered at their former residence.
Despite their initial claims that Gary had simply walked out on the family, forensic teams utilised cadaver dogs and luminol to find significant blood traces in the basement and garage.
These findings corroborated witness reports of the pair loading a rolled-up rug into a vehicle and scrubbing floors in the middle of the night years earlier.
Following his arrest in November 2020, Austin Herbst provided a full confession, claiming he acted to protect his mother from escalating violence.
Austin admitted to shooting his father in the head as he lay on a sofa, asserting that he discovered a firearm Gary had allegedly brought into the living room during a drunken argument.
The teenager recounted wrapping the body in a rug and transporting it to a secluded forest in Wisconsin, where he abandoned the remains to be consumed by wildlife.
While Austin claimed his actions were the result of years of physical and psychological abuse, prosecutors argued the killing did not meet the legal threshold for self-defence.
In the subsequent legal proceedings, Austin Herbst pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while Connie Herbst pleaded guilty to aiding an offender as an accomplice after the fact.
Despite the grim nature of the crime, neighbours noted that the pair appeared liberated and happy in the weeks following the disappearance, eventually selling Gary's belongings at a yard sale.
