Info Sought On Those Arrested In Buffalo Teen's Homicide
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Officials in Wright County are asking the public's help in figuring out what five people arrested in connection to the killing of a Buffalo teenager were doing for the last several days.
Cheyenne Clough, 19, was found last Wednesday in Crow Springs County Park with gunshot wounds. She died over the weekend at North Memorial Medical Center. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office ruled her death a homicide.
On Sunday, several people were arrested near the Canadian border in connection with Clough's death. They have since been brought back to Wright County in central Minnesota, where the attorney's office there is reviewing the case for potential charges.
Sheriff Joe Hagerty identified those in the Wright County Jail as 28-year-old Justin Jensen of Maple Lake; 33-year-old Natasha Brandenburger of Buffalo; 19-year-old Callie Anderson of Delano; 21-year-old Shawn Benson of Maple Lake; and 26-year-old Edward Zelko of Buffalo.
Hagerty is asking the public's help in determining what these people were doing from last Tuesday night -- the time when Clough was fatally assaulted -- to the when they were arrested over the weekend.
Authorities are also looking for a car Brandenburger and Jensen were believed to have been driving. It is described as white 2008 four-door Honda Accord, with dual exhaust, tinted windows, sunroof, and a Minnesota license plate of 307LCX. This car, which may now have different plates, was last seen traveling between Maple Lake and International Falls.
A sixth person, 26-year-old Thomas Nicholson of International Falls, was also arrested in connection to the case. He was charged Tuesday with felony aiding an offender to avoid arrest.
According to charges filed in the case, an officer with the International Falls Police Department spoke with Nicholson just after 10 p.m. Saturday at his residence at the Riverside Trailer Park. When asked about how much contact he had with two people wanted in connection with Clough's death, he said he had "no idea" what the officer was talking about.
The complaint states Nicholson told officers the two had been at his trailer but left to go to Kelliher. Another occupant of the trailer told officers the two suspects "were wanted and on the news" but left to a place where they felt safer.
After the officer cleared the trailer, Nicholson and the other occupant of the trailer left in a vehicle towards the residence where the two suspects were staying. Officers pulled the vehicle over, driven by Nicholson with expired plates, as it approached the other residence. Nicholson was arrested for obstructing the legal process and aiding offenders.
The complaint states the other occupant of the vehicle told officers she and Nicholson were headed to Kelliher. She gave officers three bags, saying they belonged to the suspects.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Wright County Sheriff's Office at 763-682-1162. They can also leave a tip at 763-682-7733, or through Crime Stoppers of Minnesota at www.crimestoppersmn.org.
