Thirty-year-old Jarquez Bedford has been found guilty on three counts of murder, including 1st-degree premeditated murder. Waite Park Police were conducting a welfare check at Park Meadows Drive in February and found Cottew dead inside her apartment. Court records show officers arrived to find the apartment door locked and no forced entry. There was blood throughout the apartment and Cottew's body was found with cuts to her neck. The victim's mattress was saturated with blood and a blood-stained kitchen knife was found on the floor next to the bed.
Cottew's phone, wallet, keys, and apartment key fob were missing. Surveillance video shows Cottew entering the apartment building the day before. Moments later, Bedford is seen knocking on the locked entry door with Cottew responding and letting him in.
Within the hour, court records show Bedford was seen on surveillance with his sweatshirt turned inside out and was coming and going from the apartment building for multiple hours.
The charges allege Bedford was alone and was using Cottew's key fob for access to the building. Officers later learned that Bedford was staying with some tenants on the 3rd floor of the building. Police say when Bedford returned to the 3rd-floor apartment unit, one of the tenants asked Bedford where he was.
Bedford allegedly said he had been looking for a job and "one just came to him". The charges allege officers interviewed Bedford who gave police multiple details about the case that were not public, but he denied killing Cottew. First-degree premeditated murder carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the state of Minnesota. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Gallery Credit: Hannah Lang. Lee Voss Published: January 31, Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Bedford has been convicted in the fatal stabbing of year-old Andrea Cottew.
