Star Tribune
Red Lake mother charged with torture, abuse and neglect of son subject of recent Minnesota Amber Alert
A Red Lake mother is charged with child torture, abuse and neglect in connection to a recent statewide Amber Alert issued for abducting her 3-year-old son.
Jennifer Stately, 35, is in custody and faces multiple felony charges including third-degree assault. Charges say her toddler was covered in open sores and hadn’t been bathed in days when Todd County sheriffs deputies pulled Stately over an hour after the Amber Alert was issued Friday night.
“It would be a very slow process for his healing,” hospital staff said of Stately’s son, according to charges filed Monday in Todd County. Staff also concluded that the wounds were not a skin condition and could be from a burn caused by heat or chemicals.
Officials with the Minnesota BCA are leading the investigation and declining to comment further.
A double-fatal house fire was also reported Friday in Red Lake. Little to no details have been released except for the two fatalities and that there’s no ongoing threat to the public.
The Minneapolis FBI bureau is leading the investigation and also declining to provide further information on the time and location of the fire. Officials have yet to identify the deceased.
Records show that Stately is the mother of three young children: the toddler and two boys, ages 5 and 6.
Stately’s home on Circle Pines Road is in Red Lake’s Little Rock District, according to Red Lake Nation legal counsel Joe Plumer. That district is in the area of the house fire.
Red Lake fire and police departments are deferring all questions to the BCA and FBI.
The Todd County Attorney’s Office also declined to comment beyond the criminal charges and wouldn’t say if further charges were pending against Stately.
According to the charges, deputies alerted law enforcement that the vehicle subject to the Amber Alert was located on Hwy. 71 around 9:24 p.m. Stately was in the vehicle and the toddler was secured in a child seat in the backseat. Deputies immediately observed scabs covering 95% of the toddler’s face and entire body.
“[He] had a very strong smell of body odor, as if he had not been washed or changed in a few days. His cheeks were red and the sores appeared to be bleeding. His blue t-shirt was filthy with what appeared to be skin cells and crumb-like material. The car seat also appeared dirty and full of the same type of materials. The boy had no winter coat, and he was wearing moccasins that were multiple sizes too big with no socks. His feet were full of scabs that appeared to be a mix of old and new wounds. [He] did not seem to want to stand on his feet due to pain. When he walked, it was in an irregular manner,” charges state.
A full-body examination at Long Prairie Hospital revealed open sores and lesions; his legs, face and feet were the worst. He was scratching vigorously at his feet and eventually started crying that he was itchy. He was given medication to help and also prescribed steroids. Staff said he would need Vaseline at all times on his body to recover.
The toddler was anemic, low on potassium and thirsty. He couldn’t eat a cheese stick because his teeth were rotten. He ate two cups of pudding and could only take small bites of ice cream because of the sensitivity in his mouth, which he said hurt.
Stately was arrested upon suspicion of child neglect and endangerment, malicious punishment, torture, and assault.
The investigation is ongoing.
According to Gomez, workers have had wages withheld under threats of possible deportations. Unauthorized workers are less likely to seek legal aid due to their legal status.
“What I want from this program is for other people not to suffer the same abuses that we’ve suffered in the past,” Gomez said. “This program is designed to prevent these abuses.”
CTUL said workers’ rights under the program will be shared in multiple languages.
Gomez specifically named Yellow Tree, United Properties, and Solhem Cos. as developers he’d like to see join the program. CTUL called for these companies, as well as Roers, Doran Properties Group, and MWF Properties, to adopt the standards.
Those working under developers in the program can report abuse to the standards council. After a complaint is made, the council will monitor contractors’ worksites to make sure they are complying with the standards.
If the council finds that a contractor is abusing workers, developers in CTUL’s program would be legally required to stop working with the contractor.
One man is dead and two others were fighting for their lives Saturday, as Minneapolis police searched for suspects following a triple shooting in the early morning hours.
According to police, officers responded to reports of automatic gunfire at a homeless encampment near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. shortly before 5 a.m. They arrived in the Ventura Village neighborhood south of downtown to find three victims with gunshot wounds.
The men were given aid and transported to HCMC, where one of them died. Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the other two remained in critical condition. The identities of the men, who were homeless, were not immediately released.
Investigators believe that an altercation occurred after three people approached the camp. One of the victims had a BB gun that resembled a real pistol, but it was unclear if that was a factor in the shooting.
“Once again, tragedy has occurred at a homeless encampment and all three of the injured are known to police,” O’Hara said at a news conference Saturday. “Residents in the area have been very frustrated. This is an ongoing issue with encampments and all of the activity that’s associated with it. As soon as one encampment is cleared, another one pops up somewhere else and crime in the area immediately rises.”
Citing department data, O’Hara said that around 13% of all Third Precinct crime, and 19% of the precinct’s gun violence, happens within 500 feet of encampments. He said he believed that the camp where the shooting occurred appeared after officials had closed a larger encampment by a Franklin Avenue overpass.
Paula Williams, who has lived in the area since the late 1970s, said she often greets youth from the encampment and that none have made her feel threatened. But Williams said drug use and sex trafficking have become an issue.
“It’s just been whack-a-mole,” she said. “The police come daily or every other day. Somebody calls and they get chased away and by the evening, they’re back.”
“… This summer an alcohol fueled argument escalated into something that I deeply regret. I said and did things that are unacceptable and I take full responsibility for my actions. Although there was never any physical violence I am deeply remorseful for the fear and trauma caused by my anger. I’ve since been given an opportunity to step back, reflect, assess, heal and grow. Although the path was unfortunate, the destination was necessary. I’ve been able to embrace sobriety, spirituality, and integrity. I’ve been able to find myself again and love myself again. The clarity and perspective I now possess is priceless and has fueled my determination and dedication. It’s no coincidence that this next chapter of my life begins as I turn 40 and I can’t wait to live the rest of my life as the best version of myself I’ve ever been and continue to give back to my community.”
Bullshit. Then, and especially now.
It’s clear Sutherland’s primary concern has been the impact of his legal case on his career. Plus, he knows he has the power to shape the narrative about the next chapter of his life.
Influential men always do. Sutherland’s success and charm could still provide the platform for him to earn an abundance of grace, and an apparently consensual meeting with the alleged victim will only enhance those ambitions. But those accused of domestic violence should not have the ability to proclaim their redemption. They’re not reliable sources.
The criminal complaint from the summer incident states that the alleged victim told police Sutherland had been physically and verbally abusive in the past. It’s a familiar story. Too familiar. According to the National Domestic Hotline, 4 out of 5 victims of intimate partner violence from 1994 to 2010 were women. And more than three-quarters of the female victims ages 18 to 49 were “previously victimized by the same offender.”
Thursday’s arrest complicates Sutherland’s legal case and perceptions about his summer encounter with his girlfriend. But it doesn’t change the facts.
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