A longtime educator and coach is dead and a St. Michael man is in custody after investigators discovered a bloody scene at a Wisconsin cabin on Saturday, September 26.
According to records, Washburn County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to a cabin on McKenzie Lake in Casey Township, Wisconsin, near Spooner, shortly before 1:30 p.m. Dispatchers told deputies the caller said the owner of the cabin was having issues with this son, who was “acting weird and believed to be using drugs,” according to a report.
Deputies found Allan Gregory Christopherson, 56, inside the cabin, unconscious and bleeding from stab wounds. He did not have a pulse. Prior to finding Allan, they were encountered by Colton Douglas Christopherson, 25, who was in an attached garage. Colton said his father had “been dead for over an hour,” and admitted to deputies he had stabbed Allan with a knife.
In the cabin, investigators found two orange knives, as well as blood on walls and on floors in multiple rooms. Clothes inside garbage bags, as well as shoes, were found, also covered in blood.
In an initial interview with deputies, Colton told them he stabbed his father in the neck, and did not attempt to call 911 or render aid, the report states. He had traveled to Casey Township to confront his father and kill him, he said, because he believed Allan had hired a man to kill him. After killing his father, Colton planned to bury him on the property near McKenzie Lake. He said he couldn’t do it at the time because a “neighbor was present.”
Colton is being held on First Degree Murder charges in Wisconsin on $5 million bail. He made his first appearance in court Monday, October 12, 2026 in Washburn County.
Wayzata High School Mourns Long Time Coach, Teacher
Wayzata High School Principal Scott Gengler sent a message to families and students Monday, September 28, informing them of the death of Allan Christopherson, a long time coach and educator at the school.
Allan joined the Trojan community in 1998, serving as a girls’ basketball, boys’ basketball, boys’ golf and girls’ golf coach. He was, at present, an advisor for the golf teams after winning multiple state championships with the programs over the last decade.
“I want to acknowledge that today has been an incredibly difficult day for many in our school community, and I’m incredibly proud of the way our students and staff came together to support one another,” Gengler wrote. “Allan was widely regarded as a kind, caring, and highly effective classroom teacher. He built strong relationships within our school community and was a favorite of many current and former students,,” Gengler wrote. “His impact extended well beyond the classroom, and the care he showed for his students and colleagues was evident in the many relationships he built throughout his career.”
Allan’s wife, Tina, has established a memorial scholarship at Wayzata High in his memory. She has also worked at Wayzata High School over the last two decades.
Funeral services for Allan Christopherson are set for 1:30 p.m. Sunday, October, 25, 2026 at Word of Peace Lutheran Church in Rogers. An obituary, courtesy of Peterson Chapel in STMA, can be found online.