Minneapolis police say they have cracked a cold-case of home invasion, murder, and assault thanks to new forensic technology which enabled authorities to develop a DNA profile the killer left behind 39 years ago.

Authorities named Matthew Russell Brown, 66, as the suspect accused of murdering Robert Miller inside his south Minneapolis apartment on July 17, 1984.

Brown would have been 27 years old at the time of the crime. Matthew Brown had recently retired from his job at Minnesota's Sex Offender Program at Moose Lake.

He was extradited back to Minnesota. And appeared in Hennepin County District Court on Monday morning. 

A judge ordered his bail to remain at $1 million. And scheduled his next court appearance for August 28. 

A Brutal Crime

In the early hours of July 19th, 1984, a brutal crime shook the residents of south Minneapolis. Robert A. Miller was found murdered inside his apartment at 3209 Girard Ave. S. 

Two women in the apartment were also attacked by the unknown intruder. 

Officers were alerted by multiple 911 calls reporting the disturbance. When they arrived at the scene, two women rushed out of the apartment building, one with a bleeding cut on her face, and the other, hysterical, but physically unharmed.

They recounted a horrifying tale of an unknown man breaking into their home and viciously attacking them with a knife. Inside the apartment, the lifeless body of Robert Miller lay in a pool of blood, with multiple stab wounds to his face, head, chest, back, and shoulders.

The crime scene investigation revealed a chilling trail of blood leading from the kitchen to the rear hallway and exit doorknob, indicating the killers’ escape route. 

Forensic experts believed the intruder might have cut himself during the attack and collected the blood evidence.

Despite their best efforts, no suspect was identified. And the case turned cold.

A DNA Profile

By 2018, there had been major advancements in DNA technology. And the evidence gathered 39 years ago was finally used.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) successfully extracted a DNA profile from the blood collected at the crime scene. Unfortunately, the profile yielded no hits in the existing DNA databases, and the killer's identity continued to elude investigators.

Undeterred, the MPD homicide investigators, as part of the FBI's Cold Case Task Force, collaborated with a genealogist to pursue familial DNA searching.

 The breakthrough came when they determined a familial link to the DNA profile. 

The investigation pointed towards Matthew Russell Brown, a seemingly unassuming resident of Barnum, MN, with no criminal history apart from a couple of traffic tickets.

Securing a DNA sample from Brown proved challenging, but in March of this year, police were successful in obtaining a disposable plastic cup he had used. 

The DNA extracted from the cup was a match to the DNA found at the crime scene, providing the critical evidence needed to charge him with murder, burglary, and assault.

Minneapolis Police cold case investigators “assigned to the FBI’s Cold Case Task Force have been working diligently with the BCA Forensics Lab” for more than eight years “to identify DNA found at the scene and narrow down a possible list of suspects,” which led them to Brown" according to an MPD statement.

“Even though this week marks 39 years since the crime occurred, perseverance and collaboration brought a resolution to this unsolved crime. This allows MPD’s homicide investigators to move on to the next one,” the department said.