Kare11
Man sentenced to 20 years in 1984 cold case Minneapolis murder
Matthew Brown admitted to following a woman from the bar to her apartment the morning of July 19, 1984, and then stabbing Robert Miller when he tried to step in.
MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minnesota state prison security counselor will himself serve a 20-year sentence behind bars after admitting his guilt in a murder that went unsolved for decades.
Matthew Brown was in a Hennepin County Courtroom Monday, just over 40 years after the fatal stabbing of Robert Miller inside his south Minneapolis apartment. The prosecution and defense agreed to a 20-year sentence after Brown agreed to plead guilty, in part to spare his victim’s family the pain of having to sit through a trial.
Brown’s attorney read an allocation for the defendant, admitting that early the morning of July 19, 1984 he followed a woman home from the bar and then broke into the apartment she went into. The woman ran into the bathroom, and when the 32-year-old Miller jumped in to intervene, Brown brutally stabbed him to death.
Prosecutors said after the sentencing that 20 years “isn’t enough time,” but that the cold case had significant challenges – among them, many of the witnesses and investigators who contributed to the investigation are now dead.
KARE 11’s Lou Raguse spoke with the victim’s brother, Jim Miller, following the sentencing. Miller recalled sharing a bedroom with “Bobby” when the two were younger, and expressed gratitude that Robert got a chance to hold his youngest child on the Fourth of July that year, just weeks before the murder.
Jim Miller says while his brother’s violent death has haunted him for decades, he is doing his best to honor Robert by not holding on to hate, as “Bobby” would not have wanted that. Miller also noted that Brown – who eventually relocated to Moose Lake, where he worked at a prison for sexual offenders as a security counselor – rebuilt his life with a wife and children while living less than 30 minutes from Miller and his family. Miller added that he knows people who knew Brown and had no idea his brother’s killer was so close.
Miller added that the family is happy the case ended with a guilty plea so they didn’t have to sit through a trial, and told Raguse that they are not upset with prosecutors for the deal that was struck. He also thanked the police for refusing to give up on the case.
After growing cold over more than three decades, investigators got a breakthrough in the case in 2018 when advances in technology allowed the Minnesota BCA to develop a DNA profile built on blood recovered from the scene at 3209 Girard Ave. S. There were no hits in the nationwide system, but investigators soon consulted with a genealogist and determined that a Minnesota man named Matthew Russell Brown of Barnum was a potential suspect. They were able to collect a DNA sample from a plastic disposable cup Brown used in March of 2023, and the profile matched the blood collected at the murder scene.
Brown, who had relocated to Illinois, was extradited to Minnesota and charged with murder, burglary and assault in Robert Miller’s death.
A KARE 11 Weather Impact Alert is in effect for Saturday with the expectation of slick roads and slippery conditions around the region.
MINNESOTA, USA — The Minnesota State Patrol has reported more than 100 crashes, spinouts and jackknifed semis statewide as a wintry mix makes its way through the state.
According to the state patrol, there have been 109 property damage crashes, seven injury crashes, 23 reports of vehicle going off the road, two spin outs and one jackknifed semi as of 1:30 p.m.
The hazardous weather conditions are expected to continue on and off throughout the day as the system drfits to the east, according to KARE 11 Meteorologist Jamie Kagol.
A KARE 11 Weather Impact Alert is in effect for Saturday with the expectation of slick roads and slippery conditions around the region.
Conditions are expected to improve by late night Saturday, according to Kagol.
This is developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Kare11
Rescue! – A chase, a crash and martial arts store workers race to save mother and babies in Fenton.
Employees of a Fenton martial arts school ran to the aid of a mother and her babies after the rollover crash. They said their training helped them rescue the family.
FENTON, Mo. — Employees at a martial arts business in Fenton rushed to save a mother and her twin eight-month-old babies after their vehicle was struck during a police pursuit involving federal officers on Interstate 44 in Fenton.
Surveillance video captured the moment a car being pursued by the DEA and Homeland Security struck the woman’s car on Wednesday.
Those who helped rescue them said it was a miracle they walked away alive.
The woman’s car flipped multiple times from the interstate, over the fence, and onto South Highway Drive before it landed in front of Xtreme Krav Maga & Fitness in Fenton.
“All of a sudden, I heard a car crash, screeching noise, and my fellow employee, Lindsay, was here at the front counter, and she said, ‘Oh, that’s not good,'” said Dustin Pluth, a manager at the business.
Within seconds, Pluth sprang into action, running outside to the car.
“It was just kind of an instinct thing. Once I saw the car rolling, coming to a halt, and running up to it, I found a mom and two babies inside,” he said.
Pluth cut the mom’s seatbelt off to get her out and pulled her twin babies out of the sunroof. Then another employee, Lindsay Cross, comforted the mom while walking them inside to get warm.
“She was very terrified of just being in a car wreck number one, not knowing what was going on. She didn’t know what the outcome was, and then she was obviously worried about her kids,” Pluth said.
The business offers self-defense and martial arts classes, as well as medical training and trauma-one classes, which teach people how to become first responders.
Pluth said it’s training that helped them rescue the family.
“Luckily, the good people in this scenario had a few scratches on them, but it could’ve been a worse Christmas. And as a dad, kids being injured is the worst fear ever,” he said.
Of all places for a car accident to end, Pluth said it was the best result of a bad situation.
“She got handled and cared for, and the babies were cared for probably as quickly as we possibly could do. It’s definitely a Christmas miracle that it happened here, and they came as unscathed as possible,” Pluth said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said several suspects were taken into custody following the federal police pursuit.
Pluth said the mom was a little banged up, but thankfully, they’re all doing well.
Tracie Munce, owner of Merlin’s Rest, joined KARE 11 Saturday to discuss the upcoming singalong and share a dish.
MINNEAPOLIS — A neighborhood bar in south Minneapolis is sharing a popular recipe and announcing the return of a favorite holiday tradition.
Merlin’s Rest, which has been in the Longfellow neighborhood for nearly two decades, will host its annual pub carol singalong on Sunday, Dec. 22·from 2 to 4 p.m.
Merlin’s not only has the most extensive selection of single malt Scotch and Irish whiskey in the state, but it also serves award-winning pub classics like bangers and mash and authentic fish and chips.
Owner Tracie Munce joined KARE 11 Saturday to discuss the upcoming singalong and share a dish.
Recipe: Beef Wellington
- 3lb ribeye roast
- ¾ cups Beef Stock
- Steak seasoning
- 1 ¼ lb crimini mushroom
- ½ shallots
- ¼ onion
- 4 Tbls garlic
- 1 long stalks of rosemary
- 1 TBS bisto gravy mix mixed with 1 TBS cold water
- 1 cups water mixed with 1TBS beef base and 1 TBS garlic base
- 8oz of sliced and diced thinly Ham
- Puff pastry sheets
Coat thawed ribeye with oil and sprinkle steak seasoning all over the roast, cook each side for about 5-8 minutes then transfer to a roaster with about 1-2 cups of beef stock, fat side up. Cover with aluminum foil and roast at 350 degrees for 2 hours – remove from the roaster and let rest – save the juice for gravy.
Clean and quarter mushrooms and place into a food processor, pulse into a small dice. Rough chop shallot and add into the mushroom, pulse a few more times.
Remove rosemary leaves from stem & rough chop, combine with mushrooms and shallots
In a large skillet add 1 Tbs butter and add the mushroom mixture, cook on medium-high heat until all the water has evaporated, about 15 minutes, put in a large bowl
Cube beef, take off fat, and add to the mushroom bowl
Thin, long slices of ham then chop and to beef and mushroom mixture. Salt and Pepper (about 1TBS of each) and combine
Dice onion and garlic and sauté in 1TBS butter until just browning, add juice from roasting the ribeye and about 1 cup of Beef stock. Let boil then add slowly the bisto slurry to thicken. Add a small amount of gravy mixture to the beef mixture to moisten – do not need much gravy.
Cut pastry into large squares and place into jumbo muffin tin. Add ½ cup of meat & mushroom mixture and pull puff over top of meat, pinching to seal everything in. Brush top with egg, and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Bake for 25-30 mins at 350
Add your side of choice with Wellington pie and a side of gravy.
