Appeals court throws out conviction in shooting death of Minneapolis North football star Deshaun Hill Jr.

The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday threw out the conviction of the man police say shot and killed Deshaun Hill Jr., the rising football star and honor roll student at North High in Minneapolis, ruling that the defendant’s incriminating statements to law enforcement were made while he was illegally detained.

Cody Fohrenkam, 31, of Minneapolis, was sentenced in March 2023 to a 38½-year term after a jury took less than an hour to convict him of second-degree murder for gunning down Hill in February 2022 during a chance encounter while the teen was walking home from school.

In his appeal, Fohrenkam contended that statements he made to investigators in the Carlton County jail should not have been presented during his trial, because they were made after a court ordered his release and before he was freed from custody.

“Fohrenkam made his incriminating statements during this period of continued detention, which the state never justified,” the appeals panel explained in its decision to reverse the conviction and send the case back to District Court for retrial. “Fohrenkam’s statements must be suppressed as the product of an unlawful seizure.”

In response to a request for comment, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in a statement, “The senseless act of gun violence that took the life of Deshaun Hill devastated those who knew and loved him and everyone in the North High School community and beyond.

“We are deeply disappointed in this decision and are reviewing our options to ensure justice and accountability in this case.”

Hill’s determination to make it out of north Minneapolis, a community long dogged by poverty and crime and provide a better life for his family was highlighted in the documentary “Boys in Blue.” The Showtime production gave an intimate look at his football team and coaching staff comprised of police officers in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020 at the hands of police. Work on the show began before Hill’s murder, and the four-part series unknowingly foreshadowed his premature death.

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