David Taute, 46, was killed at a Mille Lacs resort after getting punched in the face by a Brooklyn Center man, David Stay at Nitti’s Hunter’s Point Resort in Minnesota.
Taute, known as “Super Dave” to his friends, was enjoying a fishing opener over the weekend of the altercation that happened early in the morning on May 14. Local sheriffs deputies responded to a call at 1:06 a.m., discovering Taute in an unresponsive state with an injury to the left side of his face. Taute was airlifted to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead, leading to the arrest of Stay on charges of manslaughter.
Cathie Kranz, who was engaged to Taute, says she had seen Stay at Nitti’s before but neither her or her fiancé had spoken with him before.
“Evidently, this guy just kind of came up and was acting crazy,” Kranz told Fox9. “Somebody walked in to get help and my Dave knew who he was so he walked up to him, hands in his pockets, and said ‘What’s the problem?’ and he just hauled off and hit him and that was it.”
Koran described Dave as a caring and loving individual who liked anyone he met.
Image: Cremation Society of Minnesota
“You couldn’t be mad at Dave. There’s no way you could be mad at Dave,” she said. “It’s like a nightmare. It never should have happened. Because he never would have hurt anyone. He didn’t deserve that.”
Stay was released Monday afternoon on bail and hasn’t been reached for comment.
Taute leaves behind a 19-year-old son as well as his fiancé.
David Taute’s obituary says he “passed away unexpectedly on May 14, 2016. He had a larger than life personality, his smile was infectious, and his humor was second to none. Dave’s passion was fishing and hunting. He is preceded in death by his sister, Lisa; step father, Doug. He will be deeply missed by his son, Michael; fiancé, Cathie Kranz; parents, Michael (Kathy) and Char Hansen; sister, Debbie; his dog, Hank and many other loving family and friends.”
It’s sad when people can’t just enjoy one of nature’s most beautiful activities without causing harm to another person.
