3 charged in killing of woman, 19, at Wright County park
Three men arrested near the Canadian border earlier this week have been charged in connection with the killing of 19-year-old Cheyenne Clough.
Justin Jensen, Edward Zelko and Shawn Benson, all face charges of second-degree murder in Wright County, where police say the three men conspired to kill Clough.
Clough was found unresponsive in Crow Springs County Park on June 1. She'd been shot four times in the neck and back of the head and died three days later at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.
Investigators tracked the three men and several other suspects to a home in Koochiching County, calling in state and federal SWAT teams to make the arrests.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Court documents claim the killing was sparked by an argument late the night of May 31. Witnesses said Clough threatened to turn another woman over to law enforcement on an outstanding warrant.
In the early hours of June 1, police believe Jensen decided to have Clough killed.
"Jensen was in possession of a .22-caliber handgun taken in a residential burglary ... and supplied Zelko and Benson with the gun when he announced the order to kill Cheyenne Clough," according to court documents.
After his arrest, Zelko told police he and Benson took Clough to Crow Springs park just before 3 a.m. the day she was killed. He said Benson left the car with Clough and came back alone 20 minutes later. Residents near the park reported hearing gunshots and a female screaming, the documents said.
Benson is accused of firing those shots.
The men fled north after the shooting, dumping the stolen gun in a river near International Falls, Minn.
Three others have also been arrested in connection to the homicide on lesser charges.