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.
