(KNSI) – The man accused of stabbing a woman to death in her Waite Park apartment in 2023 has been found guilty.
Judge Andrew Pearson convicted Jarquez Javon Bedford on Thursday after a two day bench trial last week of two counts of first-degree murder. One count is for preplanning the killing and another for doing so in the course of committing a felony. He was also found guilty of second degree murder.
On February 5th, 2023, prosecutors say Bedford used a kitchen knife to slash Andrea Cottew’s neck several times. According to the criminal complaint, Bedford knocked on a locked entry door around noon on that day, and Cottew answered and let him in the building. A security camera showed the two talking briefly and then walking together toward the door of the first-floor hallway. About an hour later, Bedford was seen on video leaving through the back door of the apartment building alone with his sweatshirt turned inside out. Investigators say over the next several hours, Bedford was seen coming and going from the apartment and used Cottew’s key fob for access. The victim was found dead in her apartment the next day after a welfare check was requested.
Investigators found Bedford’s DNA on the knife handle, Cottew’s purse, a cigarette, a knotted-up sweatshirt found in a bedroom, and a marijuana blunt in the living room.
In a sworn statement to police, Bedford provided multiple details about the case that were not generally known to the public. He denied committing a crime but stated someone he knew told him they had assaulted and robbed the woman. His account of what happened was also confusing and contradictory, according to court papers.
A sentencing date for the 31-year-old Bedford hasn’t been set yet. He is facing a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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