Duluth man charged with murder, arson months after man found fatally stabbed
A Duluth man faces criminal charges some nine months after first responders found the burned body of a 25-year-old man who had been stabbed more than 30 times.
On Wednesday, the St. Louis County Attorney's Office charged Tyler Walter Edwards, 25, with second-degree murder and first-degree arson in connection with the deadly fire on July 25, 2024 at a home on 47th Avenue East, about a mile northeast of Glensheen Mansion off Highway 61.
According to the criminal complaint, first responders were called to the burning residence in the early morning hours, where they eventually found the remains of Maxton Keith Gudowski.
Investigators later determined Gudowski had been stabbed dozens of times and died before the fire was set, with Edwards accused of using several 50ml bottles of fruit punch-flavored liquor and Pine-Sol as accelerants and a heated blanket as an ignition source.
The complaint states Edwards and Gudowski were seen together two days earlier at a bank, where Gudowski attempted to cash a check from his grandmother. Employees told police Edwards seemed "agitated and impatient and at one point told the victim that it was taking too long and that they needed to get out of there."
Hours before the fire, surveillance video from a liquor store showed Edwards buying 20 50ml liquor bottles. Footage from the bank and the liquor store showed Edwards wearing distinctive sunglasses with white frames, which were found under Gudowski's body, the complaint states.
About 20 minutes after crews arrived at the fire, surveillance footage from a nearby gas station showed Edwards inside with a "dark stain" on his shorts. He was then seen walking around the Lakewalk and Canal Park areas for hours, eventually walking fully clothed into Lake Superior and wading around for a half hour.
Later that afternoon, a police sergeant found Edwards in a public restroom near the Lakewalk. The complaint states Edwards falsely identified himself as "Quan" — a name later found written on a styrofoam plate in the room where Gudowski was found dead.
Edwards was arrested for giving a false name, in addition to having an active warrant in Hennepin County from first-degree criminal sexual conduct, the complaint states.
He was released due to lack of evidence, but investigators later found his DNA on and around the victim and the apartment.
If convicted, Edwards faces up to 40 years in prison.
