Kriti Mehrotra
It was in the summer of 2013 when married father of one Gary Albert Herbst suddenly disappeared from his home in Elko New Market, Minnesota, never to be seen or heard from again. However, as chronicled in CBS’ ’48 Hours: What the Neighbors Saw,’ he wasn’t officially reported missing until a year later, and then it was only his decomposed remains that were found in 2017. It eventually came to light that the 57-year-old was a victim of homicide, resulting in extensive injuries that uncovered a web of deep betrayal, family secrets, as well as heinous violence.
Gary Herbst Was Killed With a Gunshot Wound to the Back of His Head
Although reported to be a little combative in nature, Gary Herbst was a proud man who never once shied away from his work at a machine shop called RL Tool or his duties to provide for his family. He had tied the knot with a woman named Connie Lou Herbst sometime around the early 1990s, shortly following which they settled down and happily welcomed a son into the world. These Elko New Market, Minnesota, residents named him Austin James Herbst before trying to raise him to the best of their abilities while also navigating the everyday struggles of life.
Things changed in the summer of 2013 as Gary seemingly disappeared without a trace left behind – he was last publicly seen at his workplace on July 8 before he just stopped showing up. However, when Connie reported him missing a year later in July 2014 at the behest of his brother following their mother’s death, she claimed he had left home on July 6 and never returned. As per her accounts, he had ransacked their home, grabbed $5,000 in cash, picked up their .45-caliber pistol, and taken her wedding ring before leaving in a gray car with an unknown person.
What followed was an extensive search for Gary, but it was only his decomposed, partial remains that were recovered on December 3, 2017, after a Maple Grove resident contacted the police. He reported his dog had just returned from the densely wooded area along 10th Avenue with a human skull, driving officers to rush there and find even more scattered skeletal remains. They recovered backbones, leg bones, ribs, and teeth, along with clothing, the same evening before discovering additional remains the next day. Yet, it wasn’t until February 2020 that they were positively identified as belonging to the 57-year-old, with his manner of death being homicide. That’s because his skull had clear evidence of a close-range gunshot wound to the back, as confirmed by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.
Gary Herbst’s Assailants Were Arrested Not Long After He Was Identified
While Gary’s family was interviewed after his initial missing person’s report, Connie and Austin were questioned again on June 16, 2020, which is when certain accusations were made. His son claimed that his father had allegedly been physically and verbally abusive towards his mother for years, which later often started being directed at him, too. He even told officials he knew the truth behind precisely what had happened to his father, but refused to reveal any details or open up further. Then, when interviewed once more on July 28, he indicated the .45-caliber pistol was not missing but was 60 feet underwater in the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage before asking to speak to his mother.
By this point, investigators had not only searched the former Herbst residence but also questioned neighbors, which made them all the more suspicious of the mother-son duo. After all, the new owners of the place told them they had found a blood stain on the basement’s concrete floor when they were remodeling, only for it to be confirmed by cadaver dogs. The dogs also suggested the presence of similar evidence near the sliding glass door of the basement and within the garage, particularly in the drywall, the sliding tracks, as well as the rubber mats.
As if that’s not enough, former neighbors claimed Gary was “difficult” as he would yell profanities at them or call the police over minor issues, but they haven’t seen him since July 2013. However, they added that they noticed Connie and Arthur behaving strangely on a dark, stormy night in mid-August 2013, as they had a pickup truck parked on the grass directly outside their garage. They claimed they had seen the duo thoroughly clean the basement, drag a rolled-up carpet to the truck’s bed, and then hook a boat before leaving for a few days. Two separate sets of neighbors reported this while also adding that they had a garage sale sometime in August, with most of the items seemingly being Gary’s. Therefore, they were arrested for murder and hiding a corpse on November 19, 2020.
While Austin Herbst is Currently Incarcerated in State Prison, Connie Herbst Has Concluded Her Sentense
Apart from the Herbsts’ Elko New Market home, investigators had also carried out a search warrant on Connie and Austin’s New Prague homes, which yielded further evidence. Their cell phones were also seized, uncovering a rather incriminating text thread between them from July 18, 2020, as they expressed worry over their former home being searched. Connie texted him, “You need to call me ASAP, actually right away,” and “Might have a problem, they are searching (our former home). Don’t mean to f- up your vacation just wanted u to know. It’s in the paper.”
Therefore, when Connie and Austin were arrested on November 19, 2020, it was believed that they had killed Gary at home after an argument and kept his remains inside for several weeks. Then, they disposed of them quite a ways away while trying to portray as if they had gone on a fishing trip. In the end, instead of facing trial for the charges against them, the mother-son duo chose to plead guilty. Austin admitted guilt to aiding and abetting second-degree murder in May 2021, whereas Connie pleaded guilty to aiding an offender (her son) as an accomplice after the fact by hiding and transporting remains in October 2021.
Austin was ultimately sentenced to a total of 150 months in prison (12½ years) in December 2021, whereas Connie was handed down 27 months in prison with credit for 462 days already served in January 2022. Therefore, today, it appears as if while Austin is incarcerated in a state prison, Connie was released after serving the entirety of her sentence sometime in early January 2023. Since then, it appears as if she has chosen to keep well away from the limelight.
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