MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Minneapolis authorities have finally made a breakthrough in a 1984 unsolved murder case and assault with the help of the new DNA technology. Authorities have named a 66-year-old as the prime suspect in the killing of Robert Miller inside his south Minneapolis apartment on July 17, 1984.
An autopsy conducted following the attack revealed that Miller died by homicide "from numerous stab wounds to his face, head, chest, back, and shoulders." The Minneapolis Police Department's (MPD) investigation went cold due to a lack of substantiative leads.
Who is Matthew Russell Brown?
According to Fox News, Matthew Russell Brown, 66, was named as the suspect in the killing. Court records filed last month show Brown was charged with second-degree murder with intent and first-degree burglary and assault on a person for allegedly breaking into the apartment building at 3209 Girard Ave S and injuring two victims with a knife around 2 am. The suspect would have been 27 years old when he carried out the attack.
"When officers arrived, two adult females rushed out of the apartment building. The first, victim 2 had a bleeding cut to the left side of her face. The other woman, witness 1 was uninjured but extremely distraught. They reported that an unknown male had broken into their apartment and attacked them with a knife," a statement of probable cause read. Officers discovered a gruesome scene inside where they found Miller lifeless from stab wounds. Brown already escaped the scene by that time.
Investigators determined the suspect's "likely" exit path when they noticed blood leading from inside the apartment to the back door. However, court records state that blood collected from that exit route did not belong to Miller. The probable cause statement read that in 2018, "the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) developed a DNA profile from blood collected from the kitchen floor and back exit doorknob."
"Over the next few years, investigators consulted with a genealogist and determined that, based on the DNA profile, defendant [Brown] was a suspect. Investigators made multiple attempts to surreptitiously obtain a DNA sample from defendant and were unsuccessful. Finally, in March of 2023, police collected a disposable plastic cup that defendant had used" to tie him to the crime, court records state.
What did the Minneapolis police department say?
In a press release, MPD said that its officers along with FBI agents, interviewed Brown last month, who was living in Illinois at that time. MPD homicide 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, MPD said Friday, July 21. "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.
