Former Carlton County Man Charged In 1984 Minneapolis Cold Case

There has been a break in a 1984 cold case in Minneapolis. Police say new DNA technology has identified a former Carlton County man as the killer.

Matthew Brown, 66, is also a former security counselor at the Moose Lake Sex Offender Program.

Brown is accused of breaking into a random South Minneapolis apartment 39 years ago.

(Click here for the full criminal complaint)

Court documents say he stabbed Robert Miller, 27, “numerous” times in the face, chest, back and shoulders.

The homicide case would go cold for decades with no substantial leads until 2018. That’s when “the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) developed a DNA profile from blood collected from the kitchen floor and back exit doorknob,” according to the complaint.

Police says it was that evidence and a genealogist’s analysis that confirmed Brown as the prime suspect.  But it wasn’t until this past March when investigators were able to collect a DNA sample from a plastic cup the defendant had used, which authorities say created a match.

Brown has a Barnum address on the criminal complaint but had been living in Illinois.

He’s charged with second-degree murder and first-degree burglary.

The murder charge comes with a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.