Lincoln man charged with 1st degree murder in father’s death

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - A man accused of stabbing his father to death at a northeast Lincoln home Sunday is facing upgraded charges.

Prosecutors charged 40-year-old Joseph Kruger with 1st degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony on Tuesday. A judge set his bond at ten percent of $2 million.

Court documents indicate Joseph had been in a fistfight with his 59-year-old father, Mark Kruger, in the moments leading up to the stabbing on Sunday evening. Mark got upset after Joseph “scolded a child” at the family gathering near 63rd and Baldwin, according to court documents.

Police said Joseph was getting ready to leave the party when he stabbed his father. However witnesses told police different accounts of who walked towards who while Joseph was holding the steak knife.

Police said Joseph performed CPR on his father until first responders arrived and had swelling on his face consistent with being punched.

Mark was stabbed in the chest and had a laceration to his arm. He died on the way to the hospital.

Officers took Joseph into custody for second degree murder shortly after the incident but is now facing the first degree murder charge.

The incident is now Lincoln’s sixth homicide of 2023.

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