GUILTY MN - Laura DeMeules, 33, found dead in Northfield ditch, 5 Nov 2005

Full story: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5711975.html

If needed.......
From Bugmenot.com:

username: franzese
password: sydney


<< snip >> At first, a backhoe operator west of Northfield, Minn., thought he saw a mannequin lying face-down in a ditch on Sunday afternoon. But closer inspection revealed it was the body of a blonde woman in her mid-30s, who had shoulder-length hair and wore a silver friendship ring.

Rice County authorities called to the scene say they are investigating a homicide and at this point, don't know how the woman died or who she is.

"We've put out a bulletin in a five-state area. We've had some calls. None of those calls match up to the person we have found," said Rice County Sheriff Richard Cook. << snip >>



<< snip >> Cook said the woman was about 5 foot 2 inches tall, and weighed about 110 to115 pounds. She also was wearing a beaded necklace and "some fairly generic earrings." << snip >>

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5713713.html

On Monday afternoon, Rice County authorities said they had identified the body as that of a 33-year-old Minneapolis woman and are investigating the woman's death as a homicide. They declined to release the woman's name because they had not yet notified her parents.

Rice County Sheriff Richard Cook said medical examiners concluded Monday that the woman was beaten to death and that she died hours before her body was discovered around 4 p.m. Sunday.

Cook said there are no suspects and that no arrests have been made.


<<< snip >>>


Cook said area residents are shaken.

"It's a grim finding for anybody, anywhere. But this area of the state is pretty much crime-free," Cook said.

He said that the county's rural roads and proximity to I-35 have led to killers thinking it's an ideal place to hide bodies.

In 1989, the body of Sharon Bloom, a woman abducted from Woodbury, was found in a Rice County cornfield.

"It's a rare occasion but it does happen," Cook said.

So sad. At least her family can bury her and not keep wondering what happened to her. I think it would be harder on me not knowing what happened to a child of mine. Being able to bury them would give me a little peace in finally knowing where they are and that he's not a John Doe who has no one to claim him.

Family of woman left in ditch anxious for answers





We're learning more about the Blaine woman found dead in a ditch near Northfield over the weekend.

Police say someone murdered 33-year-old Laura Lynn Demeules, the mother of three, and dumped her body in an isolated area of Rice County.

Demeules had lead a rough life, but friends and family say Demeules was conquering her addictions.

Her father, Duane Demeules, says the death of his daughter is simply unimaginable, the pain unbelievable.

"I never expected something like this. You hear of stuff happening, but until it happens to you.it's just unreal."

Police say Laura Demeules was last seen Saturday around 34th Avenue South in Minneapolis.

Her body was found miles away near Northfield, dumped in a ditch near a driveway on a rural road just off of Interstate 35. Police say Laura had been assaulted, possibly strangled.

"The biggest thing right now is all the unanswered questions. The fact that they don't who did this and why they did what they did," said family friend Lisa Goenner.

Questions this family hopes someone will be able to answer. They say Laura was a loving mother of three. But she had lived a life, beyond her 33 years.

"We really feel that whoever did this really took advantage of her vulnerability," said Lisa.

Laura's vulnerability was drugs. She had once been addicted to them and as a result, she was arrested several times. But her family says Laura was getting help and had just finished a drug treatment program.

Laura's cousin Trish Douglas said Laura was really trying, "She finally decided I gotta get my life together. I wanna live. I wanna be a good person."

Lisa said what she may not have lived a perfect life, but "To be found like that just thrown there like she was garbage. It's just so wrong."


More: http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=110869

I wonder if there is anything new on this case?

From July 2008:

http://www.southernminn.com/faribau...cle_17e2185d-d025-59f8-a1cd-fa1b268ecdac.html

The murderer of a Minneapolis woman whose body was found in rural Northfield in 2005 was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Thursday in Rice County District Court.

Antonio Medina, 34, confessed to killing 33-year-old Laura Lynn DeMeules after a state DNA database linked him to the murder...

According to his confession, Laura Lynn DeMeules and Medina met each other in Minneapolis for the first time on the night of Saturday, Nov. 5, but got into an argument in his truck. Medina pinned her down and choked her, consistent with an autopsy that listed multiple traumatic injuries as the cause of death. He then drove south on Interstate 35, exited near Northfield and dumped her naked body in a ditch on 90th Street West, where it was found the next afternoon.

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