Murder Hits Close To Home

In Todd County, quick trip home led to deadly encounter

Josephine Marcotty
Minneapolis Star Tribune
May 21, 2011

Diane Fortenberry went home on her lunch break on Friday to let her dog out, as she often did. Only this time, Todd County authorities say, the 51-year-old wife and mother walked into an apparent burglary underway at her home outside Osakis, Minn., and was killed by the intruder or intruders.

Her body was found around 5 p.m. by one of her sons when he got home from work, Sheriff Peter Mikkelson said Saturday.

No suspects were in custody as of late Saturday afternoon, he said. An autopsy conducted by the Anoka County medical examiner was expected to determine the cause of death.

Fortenberry is survived by her husband, Michael Fortenberry, and two sons.

Her death shocked the small central Minnesota community, a place where few people lock their doors and kids roam freely, residents said Saturday.

"We are all shook up about it," said Lorellen Mielke, 61, who lives near the Fortenberrys' home. "My door is locked now."

Fortenberry usually had lunch with coworkers and then would go home briefly to let her dog out, Mikkelson said. Investigators suspect that when she went home to do that, she encountered an intruder or intruders and was killed.

Several items were taken from the residence on E. Whitetail Trail, Mikkelson said.

Fortenberry grew up in the Osakis area, according to residents and local news reports. She and her family had lived in Mississippi for a time, and returned to Minnesota three years ago. She has many relatives who live nearby, Mielke said.

Mikkelson said the investigation is continuing, and asked anyone who saw anything unusual in the area to call the sheriff's office at 320-732-2157 or 800-794-5733.

The last homicide in Todd County was in 2006, the sheriff said.

About 30 minutes away from me.

Tragic!
But that's one thing I really don't understand. Why would you not lock your door? No matter how small the community, one should always lock the doors. I mean, it's not like outsiders can't come into the community and rob your house...

Tex, are drugs as much a problem in rural Minnesota as it is in Kentucky? In KY, you hear about a murder or a child getting killed by one of its parents every other week and mostly it's drug related..

BubbleBliss wrote:
Tragic!
But that's one thing I really don't understand. Why would you not lock your door? No matter how small the community, one should always lock the doors. I mean, it's not like outsiders can't come into the community and rob your house...

There was a murder in this town a year or two before I got here. They were from Minneapolis.... looking for money to buy drugs. They got the wrong house that they were casing and killed the people who lived there.

BubbleBliss wrote:Tex, are drugs as much a problem in rural Minnesota as it is in Kentucky? In KY, you hear about a murder or a child getting killed by one of its parents every other week and mostly it's drug related..

Yep. It's like that everywhere. I read the police blotter in our local paper each week and there's always some drug related offense in there.

As for parents killing kids by their parents every other week.... I find that a stretch.

Yeah, I can imagine that. I've heard of numerous occasions where somebody from the inner city drives out to small towns in order to rob somebody or conduct other criminal activity. I guess they think they won't get caught as easily if they do that...

So I guess it's a nation wide problem then. When I still lived in Lexington (pop. of about 250,000) you'd hear about the occasional robbing of the pizza man, a fast food restaurant or a bank, but that's really only been a problem since the recession kicked in. Of course we'd also get the occasional murder or shooting every few months, but not as often as you'd expect. Before the recession, there weren't as many robberies. But when you turn on the news, most of the drug offenses, murders, rapings and even most scandals at the schools that involve teachers or students come from rural Kentucky.

Maybe it only seems that way, but in the past months, I've read about too many children dying because of murder or pure neglicance by their parents....

Well, it's not normal for this area. The lady in this story lived in a total rural area.

Negligence by parents is a different story than how you worded it. There's lots of that and it transcends drugs. It's a normal occurrence for a parent to leave their kid in a hot car in the summer while they run into a store to do whatever business. People like tat shouldn't be allowed to breed again.

Btw, I lock my doors here. People in rural areas think I'm crazy. Maybe they'll change their minds now.

I'm not talking about leaving kids in a hot car, I'm talking about dropping your kid while giving it a bath, shaking your baby till it's dead, etc.

BubbleBliss wrote:
I'm not talking about leaving kids in a hot car, I'm talking about dropping your kid while giving it a bath, shaking your baby till it's dead, etc.

Okay then. But those instances aren't common. Sure, it happens each year but it's not a regular occurrence.

Ex-con charged with killing homeowner as he burglarized her home

Paul Walsh
Minneapolis Star Tribune
May 31, 2011

A 52-year-old man with a long rap sheet was charged Tuesday with killing a woman who stumbled upon him as he was burglarizing her home in rural central Minnesota.

Jeffery A. Brooks, of Alexandria, Minn., was charged with second-degree murder in the May 20 killing of Diane Fortenberry, 51, at her family's home southwest of Osakis. A medical examiner's report said that Fortenberry died from "blunt force trauma" that left her lifeless body bleeding from the head.

Brooks was arrested about a week later after a thumbprint matching his was found on a plastic shopping bag found in an Alexandria mobile home park trash bin that held shoes with her blood on one of them, according to the criminal complaint. Also in the trash bin was a garbage bag with an Xbox system and a jewelry box from the Fortenberry home, the complaint added.

Several items were taken from the Fortenberry residence on E. Whitetail Trail, which overlooks Lake Osakis, according police. They included a 32-inch television, a large amount of gold jewelry, a laptop computer, collector coins and bills, camera equipment, a video game system and games, a fishing sonar depth finder, and numerous credit cards belonging to Fortenberry and others in the family.

Fortenberry was killed when she came home on her lunch break from her job at Hensley Trucking of Osakis to let a dog out and interrupted Brooks after he broke into her home, authorities have said.

One of her sons found her body when he came home from work at about 5 p.m. that day. Fortenberry is survived by her husband, Michael Fortenberry, and two teenage sons.

The complaint noted that Brooks was employed at the Long Prairie Packing Plant, and a common route from his home to work would include passing the Fortenberry home.

When questioned by investigators shortly before his arrest, Brooks first said he was in the Twin Cities visiting relatives but then said he drove to Sauk Centre to cash a check before stopping in the Osakis area to buy a fishing license, which he ended up not purchasing, according to the charge.

Brooks appeared in court Tuesday and was ordered held in lieu of $1 million bail with conditions.

State records show that Brooks has an extensive criminal record dating back nearly 20 years, starting with burglary in St. Paul. His other convictions include drug possession in St. Paul, theft in Fergus Falls, and burglary in Cold Spring.

Fortenberry was born in Alexandria and grew up in the Osakis area. Her family has been prominent in the area for several generations, residents said.

She and her husband had lived in Mississippi for a time. They returned to Minnesota about three years ago after Hurricane Katrina and a house fire.