A Clay County judge found James Kollie Jr. guilty of first-degree murder in the 2022 stabbing death of his mother, Receia Kollie.

Days before she died, Receia Kollie told police her son locked her in a bathroom and threatened to kill her. He was released on a no-contact promise. Prosecutors said he then bought a ski mask, gloves and a knife. The verdict closes the trial. It does not close the question of how that release happened.

James Kollie Jr. was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in the killing of his mother, Receia Kollie, at her home in south Moorhead in December 2022, the Clay County Attorney's Office announced. Valley News Live reported Clay County District Judge Tammy Merkins delivered the verdict after a court trial. InForum reported Kollie waived his right to a jury, that the six-day trial began in late September, and that Merkins also found him guilty of second-degree murder, a count to be dismissed at sentencing.

InForum reported Kollie's sentencing is set for Dec. 14 and that the first-degree charge carries a mandatory life sentence. Kollie was first charged with second-degree murder. A grand jury later indicted him on premeditated first-degree murder, raising the maximum from 40 years to mandatory life, the paper reported. Outlets differ on ages and the exact date: Valley News Live reported Kollie is 28 and his mother was 56 and killed Dec. 2, 2022; InForum reported he is 29, she was 59, and prosecutors argued she was killed Dec. 1.

The background is a warning that went unheeded. Valley News Live reported court documents say Kollie was arrested four days before the killing on domestic assault charges after his mother told officers he locked her in a bathroom and threatened to kill her. InForum reported he was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault and released without bond on a promise not to contact her. Prosecutors said he then bought a ski mask, gloves and a knife and carried out a "planned attack," InForum reported. She was found with multiple stab wounds, and he was arrested the next day in Wahpeton, N.D.

"Today's verdict holds James Kollie Jr. accountable for the brutal killing of his mother, Receia Kollie," Clay County Attorney Brian Melton said, according to Valley News Live. "Receia Kollie deserves to be remembered as a person and a mother, not simply as the victim of a terrible crime." InForum reported defense attorneys had explored a mental health or cognitive impairment defense but did not use it at trial.

Kollie has been convicted but not yet sentenced, and he may appeal. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.