This was the first petition from 2014.

The Judge had some very harsh things to say about this case when handing down the sentence.

  • You'll find on page 37 why he gave Mr. Merkt the longer sentence

  • The jury did not find there was sexual criminal conduct on page 38

  • Page 41 talks about registering as a sex offender

  • Page 43, convicted of murder in the second degree

  • Sentenced to 300 months - double the presumptive sentence

  • Under state law, 2/3rds of that in prison and the maximum supervised release term equal to the remaining one-third.  

  • Page 44. The Commissioner may extend your term of imprisonment up to the entire sentence if you do violate any disciplinary rules while in prison or violate any conditions of supervised release.


Brian Patrick Merkt Sentence 051397 Pages 24 - 46


Brian Merkt,  Brian Patrick Merkt, Minnesota Department of Corrections, Scott County Justice System, Linwood Township, Stacy MN, Stacy Minnesota, Shakopee Murder, child rape, child murder, Minnesota Parole Board, Wisconsin Social Services Department, Level II sex offender,Level III sex offender,Sex offender registration, probation violation, sex crime,murder, MN End of Confinement Review Board, Release on Good Behavior, child predator, sex predator, sexual predator warning,child exploitation, adjudicated sexual offenders, sexual offense against a victim who is a minor, sexual offenses committed against children, Sexual conduct, Solicitation to engage in sexual conduct, mandatory life imprisonment, kidnapping, forcible rape, sodomy, maiming of children, PRETRIAL RELEASE, supervised release, victim who is a minor, electronic monitoring, gps monitoring, sexual registration, notification to schools, notification of communities, community notification meeting, sexual offender compliance, release on good behavior

​MacKenzie's

WIS​H

​ 
Online Campaign Grows to Send Convicted Child Killer Back to Prison ​


Updated: 10/27/2014 7:14 AM
Created: 10/26/2014 10:23 PM KSTP.com 
By: Beth McDonough

​

Some residents in Anoka County are urging community members to join a campaign to send a convicted child killer back to prison.

Bryan Merkt served some, but not all, of his sentence behind bars. He was released earlier this year.

Merkt was convicted of the murder of 3-year-old Mackenzie Bussiere in Shakopee back in 1996. The medical examiner ruled she died from head trauma and showed signs of attempted rape. 

She was the daughter of his then-girlfriend. 

Police re-arrested Merkt recently, who was out on parole. 

Merkt was supposed to serve 25 years, but because of state law he was released early after completing two-thirds of that sentence, which is 17 years.

Since discovering he's been arrested not once, but twice this year, folks are pushing for him to spend more time behind bars.

"It doesn't go away even after all these years; the pain doesn't go away. It's changed our whole lives," Justina Peper, the victim's mom. Peper is demanding that her daughter’s killer go back to prison and suffer because she still is, 18 years later.

"I would like him to serve the rest of his time," she said. "I think he should have sat a lot longer in the first place."

A look at a growing online campaign by strangers shows she's not alone. 

More than 600 families are asking Gov. Mark Dayton to hear their pleas and order Merkt to finish his time, which is eight more years of incarceration.

One of the conditions of Merkt's supervised release was random and repeated searches of his Linwood home.  The one that led to his arrest happened on Oct. 14.

One supporter of the online campaign acknowledges"this man did his time according to the law, but it's a matter of time before he offends again." 

Mackenzie's mom agrees.

"The worst case scenario is that he'll go back to living in his own Linwood home like nothing happened and all these people have to watch their kids," she said.

Merkt's sentence doesn't expire until April 2022. His parole violation hearing is Friday. 

The Minnesota Department of Corrections could return him to prison for part, all, or even extend his sentence.  

Merkt is being held at the Anoka County Jail.