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Friday, March 08, 2002

The life of Paul Gutierrez has been difficult and rough.

Gutierrez was born in San Antonio, Texas, on November 21, 1973. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to southern Minnesota. His parents divorced because of abusive behavior by his father, and his mother raised him thereafter.

In August 1982, Gutierrez was placed under foster care. Until 1990, he lived with three different foster parents in the region.

A Department of Corrections document filed in 1993 as a sentencing recommendation for a felony theft he was charged with says, &uot;Some of these placements were due to the defendant’s behavior and others his mother’s inability to care for him and other siblings.&uot;

One of the foster parents, with whom Gutierrez spent four and half years, testified during his trial. According to the testimony, Gutierrez called her at 9 p.m. – right around the time a medical examiner supposes lethal injuries were inflicted on Makaio Radke. &uot;He was upset and crying,&uot; she said. &uot;He said something terrible happened to Makaio in the house.&uot;

Referring to Gutierrez’s tough experiences in his life, she said, &uot;He had a lot of obstacles, and I still admire him.&uot;

Despite the foster care arrangements and part-time employment at a farm in Oakland, Gutierrez basically grew up on the streets. He became involved in juvenile probation due to drug abuse, disorderly conduct and shoplifting offenses.

After receiving his GED in 1990 at a juvenile correction facility, Gutierrez went on to Austin Technical College. As a ward of the state, he was eligible to receive a free college education, but he did not complete it.

The record shows that he had been to chemical dependency treatment twice by 1993, but authorities observed that he did not see himself as an addict.

Between 1996 and 2000, he made 21 offenses in the Austin Police Department jurisdiction alone.

About six years ago, Gutierrez started living with Kristina Baker. During March of last year, after moving into Peggy Radke’s house at 505 Johnson St, Albert Lea, they had their first baby.

While Baker continued working at a packing plant in Austin with a two-month maternity leave, Gutierrez stayed at home, being in charge of looking after his baby and the three children of Peggy Radke.

Makaio Radke’s murder by Gutierrez has destroyed the already fragile family ties of the Radkes.

After a series of petitions for harassment restraining orders between Peggy Radke and her husband, Matthew Radke, the three-year, nine-month marriage was officially dissolved in February of this year.

Peggy Radke quit her job in Owatonna and enlisted the National Guard. Currently, she is in a training camp in South Carolina.

Makaio’s four-year-old sister was taken into protective custody for three weeks. The court granted Matthew Radke physical custody of the girl, and Peggy Radke is allowed supervised visitations.

Though the court recognized both parents do love the girl, the order said, &uot;The children’s, living arrangements at the time of the death of Makaio are of the utmost concern to the court in its consideration of any parenting/custody plan involving the parties.&uot;