A neighbor’s report and a later traffic stop helped police build the case against Travis William Lester.
CHAMPLIN, Minn. — A 911 call with few words and a neighbor’s report of a woman covered in blood led police to a Champlin home where both parents of Travis William Lester had been stabbed, authorities said.
The Sept. 5, 2025, call began a case that ended May 8 with Lester, 40, sentenced to 135 months and 15 days in prison. Lester, of Circle Pines, had pleaded guilty April 10 to two counts of attempted second-degree murder. His parents survived, but both were taken to a hospital in critical condition after suffering multiple stab wounds.
Dispatchers sent officers to the 7100 block of 120th Avenue North around 6 p.m. after receiving a 911 call from the home. The call did not include a clear explanation of what was happening. Dispatchers reported hearing someone fumbling with the phone, followed by someone yelling, “No.” A second call soon came from a neighbor, who said a woman at the home was covered in blood. That report gave police a clearer sign that the call was tied to a violent assault. Officers headed to the residential block as the scene was still active and the suspect’s location was unknown.
As officers approached the house, they saw blood-covered hands gripping the bottom of a second-floor deck railing and heard moaning. They found an adult man on a privacy deck. He was bleeding heavily, going into shock and trying to hold himself up. The man told police that his son had stabbed him and his wife. He also said he did not know where his son was. Police later identified the son as Lester. The father described the attack as a “drug-induced rage,” a phrase that appeared in reports after the complaint was filed in Hennepin County District Court.
The father’s wounds included injuries to his neck, chest, abdomen and hand. Police and medical workers then had to find the second victim. Lester’s mother had made it to a neighboring home, where officers found her with stab wounds to her neck, chest, abdomen and arms. Another account of the complaint described a 4-inch wound to her neck and other wounds to her arms and chest. Both parents were taken to the hospital for emergency care. Later reporting said they were intubated for at least three days. Authorities did not release their names in the public reports.
The first minutes at the house shaped the investigation. Officers had two critically wounded victims, a possible family suspect and signs that a knife had been used inside the home. Police found blood throughout parts of the property, including inside and outside the house. A bloody knife was located under a kitchen table. The weapon’s location suggested the attack had moved through an ordinary home setting before the victims escaped or were found. The mother’s movement to a neighbor’s house also helped draw police and medical help to her quickly.
Police then shifted from rescue to search. Lester was not at the home when officers arrived. Authorities learned that he was likely driving a silver Buick Lucerne, and reports said the vehicle was spotted near Brooklyn Park shortly after the attack. Champlin police issued a brief shelter-in-place order for nearby residents as officers searched the area. Neighboring agencies helped with the response. Police later lifted the order after determining that the suspect had left the area in a vehicle.
The search ended in Lino Lakes, where officers initiated a traffic stop around 9:15 p.m. after Lester’s car was spotted again. Officers said they could see a large butcher-style kitchen knife inside the vehicle. The knife appeared similar to one found at the home. Police also found a clear jar in the center console or cup holder area that appeared to contain methamphetamine. Lester was arrested without incident and booked into the Hennepin County Jail early Sept. 6. At first, records showed he had been booked on probable cause for felony first-degree assault before formal charges were filed.
The charging decision raised the case from an assault investigation to attempted murder. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Lester with two counts of attempted second-degree murder with intent, not premeditated. Police said Lester gave a post-Miranda statement after the arrest and admitted stabbing his parents. According to the complaint, he said he had been thinking about doing it for “a day or two” but “didn’t want to.” That statement added a timeline before the violence and became one of the most striking details in the public record.
The legal case moved for months after the September arrest. Lester was held in jail on $1 million bail, a condition he challenged in a handwritten motion before his plea. He argued that holding him on that bail amount before conviction violated his constitutional rights. He wrote that the case was a “perfect display of cruel and unusual punishment” and called excessive bail “an abomination of the law.” The filing did not lead to dismissal. Lester later entered guilty pleas to both attempted murder counts on April 10. The May 8 sentence gave Lester credit for 245 days already served. Court records and local reports listed the prison sentence as 135 months and 15 days, which is more than 11 years. Reports said he would serve the sentence at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud. The sentence closed the main criminal case without a trial. It also meant the facts made public came largely from the criminal complaint, court records and the sentencing record, rather than from live testimony before a jury.
The public record leaves some questions unanswered. It does not explain what led up to the day or two when Lester said he thought about the attack. It does not say whether the suspected methamphetamine from the vehicle led to a separate charge. It also does not include a full recovery update for the parents, beyond reports that both survived after critical injuries and emergency treatment. What is clear is that the case began with a 911 line that captured confusion and fear, then ended with a guilty plea and a long prison sentence.
Currently, Lester remains sentenced in the attempted murder case, while his parents’ names and later statements have not been made public in the reports. The next public milestone would be any later prison, appeal or supervision record tied to his 135-month sentence.
Author note: Last updated June 15, 2026.