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https://bringmethenews.com/.image/ar_266:100%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_2560/MTk4MTc2MjM2OTc4MDU0MzM0/jarquezjavonbedfordstearnscojail.webp
Stearns County Jail.

A 28-year-old man has been indicted on 1st-degree murder charges for the death of a Waite Park woman in February.

Jarquez Javon Bedford has been indicted on two counts of 1st-degree murder and one count of 2nd-degree murder for the killing of 52-year-old Andrea Cottew on Feb. 6. He was originally charged via a warrant on April 7.

Cottew was found dead inside her apartment on the 300 block of Park Meadows Drive after police conducted a welfare check just after 9:30 a.m. Her death wasn't ruled a homicide until March 18.

The Midwest Medical Examiner's autopsy revealed that Cottew's cause of death was "exsanguination due to sharp force injury to the neck."

Cottew's obituary says she is survived by her daughter, parents and other family members. Her 21-year-old son passed away in 2014, according to the Star Tribune.

"She enjoyed casino games, playing skip-bo, spending time at the lake with her family, visiting with friends and what she loved most in the world were her two children," the obituary reads.

Warning: The following may contain some graphic details.

According to the complaint:

Cottew was found in the living room of the the apartment with cuts to her neck. Her phone, wallet, apartment keys and key fob were missing but the apartment door was locked.

Officers found blood all throughout the apartment, particularly in the bedroom and living room. A blood-stained kitchen knife was found on the floor next to the bed.

Investigators reviewed surveillance footage and identified Bedford, who was reportedly staying with another tenant on the third floor of the building. In the video, Beford can be seen knocking on the outside door of the building moments after Cottew
entered the building around 12:12 p.m. on Feb. 5. Cottew is seen letting him inside and talking with him for a they start to walk towards her apartment on the first floor.

The complaint says within an hour, Bedford is seen leaving through the back door of the apartment building with his sweatshirt inside out. He's then seen coming and going "for multiple hours," using Cottew's fob key, records revealed. Cottew wasn't seen
on camera again.

Police interviewed tenants on the third floor, who confirmed Bedford was staying with them at the time.

In an interview, Bedford changed his statement "repeatedly," at one point claiming someone he knew told him that they assaulted and robbed Cottew.

A DNA test matched Bedford to the knife found in the bedroom. His DNA was also found on Cottew's purse, a sweatshirt in the bedroom, a cigarette in the bedroom and a marijuana blunt in the living room.

According to court records, Bedford was arrested after fleeing the area and arrested on an outstanding Kansas felony probation violation in relation to a 2018 robbery conviction. He was also charged in an unrelated case in Ramsey County of illegally
possessing a gun due to a previous conviction of a violent crime

Beford has been detained at the Ramsey County Jail since Feb 14. Bail has been set at $4 million without conditions and $2 million with conditions. He faces a life sentence if convicted.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/man-indicted-for-february-murder-of-waite-park-woman

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