Man Charged in Waite Park Woman’s Death

(KNSI) – A man has been charged with the death of a woman found in her Waite Park apartment in February.

The Stearns County Attorney’s Office says Jarquez Javon Bedford used a kitchen knife to slash Andrea Cottew’s neck three or four times, leading to her death. She was found on February 6th after a welfare check was requested for the 52-year-old.

According to the criminal complaint, around noon on February 5th, Bedford knocked on a locked entry door, and Cottew answered and let him in the building. Survance video showed the two talking briefly and then walking together toward the door of the first-floor hallway. According to the criminal complaint, Bedford was seen on video leaving through the back door of the apartment building alone with his sweatshirt turned inside out within an hour. Investigators say he is then seen coming and going from the apartment through the first-floor hallway for multiple hours.

Bedford had been staying with tenants on the third floor. When he entered the apartment, one of the occupants asked Bedford where he had been, and he allegedly responded that he was looking for a job and “one just came right to him.”

During a Mirandized statement, police say 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. Investigators say Bedford’s statement changed repeatedly. He’s been charged with second-degree intentional murder.

After fleeing the area, Bedford was found to be in violation of probation following a 2018 felony conviction in Kansas. He has remained in custody in Ramsey County since February 14th. He is also charged in Ramsey County with an incident involving being a felon in possession of a firearm.

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