Red Lake woman convicted of murder

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal trial jury Friday convicted a woman from the Red Lake Indian Reservation of murdering a 14-year-old boy and assaulting a 17-year old boy with a knife.

Patricia Ann Brown was found guilty of one count of murder and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. Brown was found not guilty on a separate count of assault with a dangerous weapon alleged to have been committed on a third juvenile male.

Brown was indicted on May 20.

According to the evidence presented at the trial, the boy who was murdered attended a social gathering on the Red Lake Indian Reservation on April 12. As he was leaving, he approached Brown, who had just arrived with a juvenile female. The boy made a number of boisterous comments to Brown, who ordered him to get away. When he failed to do so, Brown pulled out a butterfly knife and fatally stabbed him once in the heart.

Brown then left the gathering and drove a short distance, where she proceeded to get into an altercation with two other juvenile males, ages 16 and 17. Using her knife, Brown lacerated the hand of the 17-year-old boy, causing severe, permanent damage.

On April 13, the Red Lake Tribal Police Department notified the FBI that they had impounded a Chevrolet Blazer automobile in connection to a separate incident involving Brown. In that vehicle, authorities reportedly discovered the butterfly knife as well as some brass knuckles. The knife was determined to have the blood DNA of both the 17-year-old assault victim and the murdered child.

Brown faces a sentence of 30 years to life for the murder conviction and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison for the assault.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.

The Pioneer in Bemidji, Minn., is owned by

Forum Communications Co.

Tags: news, minnesota, murder, reservation, brown