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Former security counselor charged in 1984 Minnesota homicide

Matthew Russell Brown was identified as a suspect in the murder of Robert Miller after DNA found at the crime scene matched the DNA found on a disposable cup.

bearded man with long hair
Matthew Russell Brown

MINNEAPOLIS — A former security counselor was arrested and charged in the 1984 homicide of a man in Minneapolis after authorities matched his DNA on a disposable cup to the DNA found in blood left at the crime scene 39 years ago.

Matthew Russell Brown, 66, was charged in State District Court in Minneapolis with second-degree murder with intent, not premeditated, in the death of Robert Miller, 33, on July 19, 1984, at a Minneapolis apartment, according to the criminal complaint and a Saturday by the Minneapolis Police Department.

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Brown is held at the Hennepin County Jail on $1 million bail.

He was originally arrested last month in Illinois, where he was living, and later extradited to Minnesota.

Court records list Brown as having an Ingleside, Illinois, address, but the complaint also show Russell as having a Barnum, Minnesota, address. Divorce documents from 2018 list Brown as having a Cloquet, Minnesota, address and working at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake, Minnesota.

Brown worked as a “security counselor” at MSOP Moose Lake from May 2006 through July 2018, Minnesota Department of Human Services spokesperson Christopher Sprung confirmed in an email to the News Tribune.

According to the criminal complaint:

At about 2:30 a.m. July 19, 1984, multiple 911 calls were made from an apartment at 3209 Girard Ave. S. in Minneapolis.

When police officers arrived, two women rushed out of the building. One was bleeding from a cut to the left side of her face and the other was “uninjured but extremely distraught.”

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“They reported that an unknown male had broken into their apartment and attacked them with a knife,” the complaint said.

Star_Tribune_1984_07_20_Page_19.jpg
A newspaper clipping detailing Robert Miller's murder, from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 20, 1984.
Courtesy / Newspapers.com

Officers found a dead man in a pool of blood near a bedroom doorway in the apartment. An autopsy found he died from “numerous stab wounds to his face, head, chest, back and shoulders,” the complaint said.

The complaint does not name the victim, but the Minneapolis Police Department said Brown was charged with Miller's death.

The kitchen door, which led to an exit, was open and crime lab personnel “determined this was the suspect’s likely path of flight from the murder as there was blood along the route that did not appear to come from the victim … it is common for persons wielding a bladed weapon to unintentionally cut themselves during an attack,” the complaint said.

The crime lab then collected blood samples from the floor, back exit hallway and back exit door handle.

In 2018, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension developed a DNA profile from the blood collected at the scene.

After consulting with a genealogist, investigators used the DNA profile to determine Brown was a suspect.

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While “multiple attempts to surreptitiously obtain a DNA sample” were unsuccessful, police in March 2023 collected a disposable plastic cup used by Brown.

The BCA then compared the DNA on the cup to DNA at the crime scene and found they matched.

Early last month, the Minneapolis Police Department said several of its homicide investigators and FBI agents interviewed Brown in Illinois and arrested him. He was held in Illinois until he was extradited to and charged in Hennepin County.

“Even though this week marks 39 years since the crime occurred, perseverance and collaboration brought a resolution to this unsolved crime,” the Minneapolis Police Department said. “This allows MPD’s homicide investigators to move on to the next one.”

His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Jimmy Lovrien covers environment-related issues, including mining, energy and climate, for the Duluth News Tribune. He can be reached at jlovrien@duluthnews.com or 218-723-5332.
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