Body of missing teen girl found near Red River in Moorhead; suspect, 18, charged with murder
MOORHEAD, Minn. — An 18-year-old North Dakota man is accused of repeatedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend and leaving her body by the banks of the Red River in Moorhead.
The victim, 14-year-old Jaelyn Walker, was found by officers at about 12:30 a.m. near Sixth Avenue South and Elm Street South, just southwest of Woodlawn Park. Walker was reported missing Monday evening.
Her body was brought to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office.
The suspect was charged with one count of second-degree murder, according to a criminal complaint filed in Clay County on Wednesday.
Charges say the suspect went to the Clay County Law Enforcement Center to report an assault shortly after 11 p.m. Monday. He said that he and Walker had been at Gooseberry Park when an unknown man began to follow them. He said he stopped to question the man when Walker fled and the man cut him with a knife. He had cuts on his fingers and went to a hospital for treatment, police say.
A short time later, Walker's mother reported her missing and gave her approximate location using Snapchat's location service. Officers found her body in a wooded area along a trail as well as a knife.
In a Mirandized interview, charges say the suspect "provided a number of other versions of what happened between him and the victim in the wooded area by the river."
Eventually, the suspect told allegedly investigators he had been in a romantic relationship with Walker, which recently ended. He says Walker wanted to know who his new girlfriend was and he refused to tell her. That's when he says she started to hit and kick him and he pulled a knife out of his pocket, injuring himself in the process. Charges say he then started to "slash" at Walker and stabbed her about 13 times.
After moving her body near the river, he discarded his phone, backpack and scooter. Police have since found the backpack and scooter but not the phone.
Security camera footage allegedly shows the suspect coming out from the path where Walker was found.
Anyone with information on this case, including nearby residents who may have surveillance video, is asked to call the Red River Dispatch Center at 701-451-7660 and ask for a Moorhead police supervisor.
Police say the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting with the investigation.
Local Domestic Violence Resources
Women's Advocates
- wadvocates.org
- Crisis Line: (651) 227-8284
St. Paul & Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention Project
- stpaulintervention.org
- Crisis Line: (651) 645-2824
Minnesota Day One
- dayoneservices.org
- Crisis Line: 1-866-223-1111
Esperanza United
- esperanzaunited.org
- Bilingual crisis line: (651) 772-1611.
For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
