Levi Axtell, a 27-year-old man from Minnesota, has been accused of killing an elderly man whom he believed had been stalking his daughter.

The victim, Lawrence V. Scully, had a previous conviction for child sexual assault. Axtell has been charged with second-degree intentional murder for Scully’s death.

On Wednesday, Scully was found dead at his residence in Grand Marais, Minnesota.

A criminal complaint filed on Friday said Axtell killed Scully by beating him with a shovel and a large moose antler, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

According to the complaint, Axtell drove to the Cook County Sheriff’s office while under the influence of alcohol following the assault. He was covered in blood at the time.

Upon arriving at the lobby, Axtell dropped to his knees and confessed to using a shovel to murder Scully, putting his hands on his head as he did so.

According to the charging document, a sheriff’s deputy discovered Scully’s body in his home, and his head wounds indicated that he had died from the attack.

Axtell admitted to assaulting Scully with a shovel, striking him 15 to 20 times, and using an antler to deliver several final blows.

Axtell claimed that he had known Scully for a long time and believed he had previously engaged in sexual misconduct with children. He stated that he had observed Scully in his vehicle at locations where children were present and feared he would reoffend.

In 2018, Axtell accused Scully of stalking his 22-month-old daughter and other children, claiming that he had watched them from his van parked near her daycare in Grand Marais.

In his request for an order, Axtell stated, “He is a convicted pedophile, and him stalking and attempting to groom my daughter is completely inappropriate and needs to stop.”

Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen informed that Scully was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl in 1979 in Kanabec County, Minnesota. He served his sentence and was released from prison in 1982.

Eliasen said that there were accusations against Scully, but after an investigation, nothing was found, and most of the reports were linked to harassment.

Axtell was granted a bail of $1 million during a video hearing held on Friday.

Dennis Shaw, Axtell’s defense attorney, argued that Axtell had no previous criminal record and had strong connections to Grand Marais, which reduced the chances of him fleeing.

Axtell is still in custody at Cook County and will appear in court on April 10.

Newsweek has reached out to Eliasen for additional comments via email, but there has been no response so far. Shaw was unavailable for immediate comment.