Background: The home in Cass Lake, Minn., where Codi Brown was found stabbed to death (Google Maps). Inset: Avery Cadwell (Beltrami County Sheriff”s Office).
A Minnesota man pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing his neighbor in the chest over a $100 debt after chasing the victim down in the street.
Avery Cadwell, 21, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24 to second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of 28-year-old Codi Brown. According to court records obtained by local NBC affiliate KARE, Brown was riding his ATV down Porcupine Road in Cass Lake, Minnesota, on June 15. Cadwell, who had told a witness that he was “going to get” Brown, chased the ATV on foot and then delivered a single fatal blow to Brown’s chest.
Cadwell was apparently angry because he believed Brown owed him $100.
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Court documents stated that after being stabbed, Brown continued to drive a short distance on the ATV before he collapsed and fell to the ground. Beltrami Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the neighborhood at around 9:30 p.m. and found Brown on the ground by his tipped-over ATV. He was not breathing and had no pulse. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
Witnesses had identified Cadwell by his first name, and deputies began searching for him with a drone and K9 units. Police said after Cadwell emerged from the woods where he had fled, he went back to his home, where deputies arrested him and charged him with Brown’s murder.
According to the court documents, Cadwell told police that he regretted bringing a knife with him when he went to confront Brown over the money. He also said that he believed he had only hurt Brown, not killed him.
Cadwell had faced a 40-year prison sentence for second-degree murder. After his plea, a judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
