Charles Crane/MDN Ina Thea Kenoyer, left, exits the North Central District courtroom in Minot with her attorney Tyler Morrow on Oct. 16 after being sentenced to 25 years in prison for poisoning her longtime boyfriend, Steven Edward Riley Jr.

While a number of murder cases in Minot reached their ultimate disposition with convictions and sentences in the last year, two high profile cases continue to face continued delays and uncertainty.

2024 sentences

Ina Thea Kenoyer, 48, Minot, was sentenced to 25 years of a 50 year sentence on Oct. 16 after pleading guilty to poisoning her longtime boyfriend Steven Edward Riley Jr., 51, in September 2023. Kenoyer’s arrest in October 2023 for poisoning Riley with antifreeze made international headlines, drawing a great deal of attention from her motive to collect a $30 million inheritance she and Riley believed he was to receive.

Another case that resolved itself through a change of plea was that of Justin Charles McDermott, 35, Minot, who pleaded guilty to shooting Kenny Javar, 36, Minot in a bar parking lot in 2022. District Judge Gary Lee sentenced McDermott to serve 35 years of a 40 year sentence at the state penitentiary, saying it was a difficult decision to make despite requests for a life sentence with the possibility of parole from Ward County State’s Attorney Roza Larson and Javar’s family.

Heather Hoffman, 27, Minot AFB, was sentenced to life without parole on March 15 after being convicted by a Ward County Jury for the Class AA felony murder of Alexander Eckert. Hoffman and Eckert were involved in a bitter custody dispute leading up that fateful evening in April 2022, which ended with Eckert being shot outside his home.

Hoffman appealed her conviction to the North Dakota Supreme Court in May, arguing that there was inconsistency in testimony and state’s evidence. The Supreme Court returned a ruling that affirmed the district court’s decision denying Hoffman’s acquittal request, finding there was “substantial evidence” to support the verdict.

2024 murder trials

Three murder cases made it to trial in the North Central District Court in 2024, resulting in guilty verdicts for Darrion Deshon Jackson, 34, Minot; Kamauri Kennedy, 35, Minot and Shawnee Krall, 32, Minot.

Jackson was found guilty on March 14 for the Jan. 30, 2023, murder of Timothy Chrisaod Smith, 38, at The Vegas Motel in North Minot. In addition to the Class AA felony murder count, the jury also found Jackson guilty of a Class C felony count for possession of a firearm by a felon.

District Judge Stacy Louser sentenced Jackson to serve 45 years of a 50 year sentence with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the murder charge and a concurrent sentence of five years for the Class C felony count.

Kamauri Kennedy, 35, was convicted after a trial in September and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on Dec. 17 for the murder of Dominique Kelly in 2021.

Kennedy was sought as the suspect in Kelly’s death after her body was found in a burned car on a rural road in Ward County. Kennedy was eventually arrested by U.S. Marshals after a high speed chase in Michigan, and extradited back to North Dakota to face the murder charge.

Kennedy was on federal parole and state probation in the state of Michigan at the time of the murder, and was participating in a large fentanyl distribution ring operation out of Minot, according to evidence presented at his trial. In handing down the sentence, Lee described Kelly’s death as a “gangland type execution” and agreed with the state’s request for Kennedy to receive the harshest of all possible sentences provided by the State of North Dakota.

Kennedy maintained his innocence during the trial and the sentencing process and said he intends to appeal his conviction to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

The case of Shawnee Krall, 32, Minot, for the 2020 murder of Alice Quierolo, 29, took a circuitous and often delayed path to the courtroom and was initially scheduled for a trial beginning on Jan. 2. However, a motion for a change of venue was granted by Louser. Multiple prospective Ward County jurors said they had been exposed to local news coverage with information that had been ruled inadmissible at the trial, which included the victim’s body.

The can would be kicked down the road to November for a trial in Mandan, but a sudden request from Krall asking for a speedy trial in the summer necessitated rescheduling and relocating the trial to Dickinson. After four days of testimony and courtroom dramatics, including five rejected motions from Krall for a mistrial, Krall was found guilty by the Stark County jurors.

Krall’s sentencing was further delayed by his refusal to cooperate with the presentence investigation, which is set to take place on Feb. 18.

2024’s new and lingering cases

The last year brought two new murder charges. Delon Davis, 46, Minot, is charged with the murder of Mark Ramon McMillan, and Friling Hadley, 35, Minot, was arrested Dec. 17 for allegedly strangling an unidentified female household member to death.

Mark Ramon McMillan was reported missing to authorities on April 13 after falling out of contact with family members around April 3. The search for McMillan lasted several months and involved multiple requests from Minot Police for information from the public. One lead eventually resulted in the discovery of McMillan’s body in the basement of a commercial building on July 2.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, a review of McMillan’s devices discovered communications indicating there was an active feud between McMillan and Davis over stolen property and narcotics. Davis was arrested on July 19, after an autopsy of McMillan’s body determined his cause of death was two gunshot wounds. Davis’s version of the incident could not be corroborated by evidence and witness statements.

Davis is being held at the Ward County Jail on a $2 million bond and is scheduled for a jury trial beginning on May 16.

Hadley was arrested in the early morning of Dec. 17, after Minot Central Dispatch received a report of an unresponsive female. Minot Police Officers arrived to find the victim’s brother-in-law performing CPR. Hadley had fled the scene on foot before he was arrested nearby. Officers observed marks on the victim indicative of manual strangulation, and she tragically succumbed to her injuries while being treated at a Minot hospital.

Hadley is being held at the Ward County Jail on a $1 million bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 23.

The case against Daniel Breijo, 40, Surrey, for the Christmas Eve 2023 shooting death of Nicholas Van Pelt rocked the law enforcement and Air Force communities of Ward County.

Both Breijo and Van Pelt were well known to local law enforcement, as Breijo was a Homeland Security agent and Van Pelt was a long-time Ward County Sheriff’s deputy before he transitioned to the 219th Security Forces Squadron at Minot Air Force Base in 2023. The unidentified female victim who survived the incident was also an established staff member with the Ward County State’s Attorney’s office.

Due to local law enforcement and district court personnel’s familiarity with the parties, the case was transferred to District Judge Daniel El Dweek and Stark County State’s Attorney Amanda Engelstad.

Breijo’s preliminary hearing was a matter of contention, as several weeks were spent addressing a motion from Breijo to close the preliminary hearing to the public. Breijo’s attorney Jesse Walstad argued in motions and at a hearing in Minot on May 24 that evidence which could later be deemed prejudicial or inadmissible would be presented at the hearing.

Engelstad initially didn’t oppose Breijo’s motion but reversed her position in June, saying that any closure “would be too broad.” She asked El Dweek to consider alternative means to fortify Breijo’s constitutional rights.

El Dweek would eventually deny Breijo’s motion to close the hearing, but Breijo ultimately waived his right to the hearing and pleaded not guilty to all charges. Breijo is being held at the Ward County Jail on a $2 million bond and has been scheduled for a jury trial beginning on Oct. 6.

The most high profile murder case in Ward County was that of Nichole Rice for the 2007 murder of Anita Knutson. Despite being scheduled for trial at the end of July, it was eventually determined after the return of questionnaires to prospective jurors that assembling a fair and impartial jury would not be possible in Ward County.

Rice’s trial was set for early January in Grand Forks but further complications arose in November. Rice’s lead defense attorney, Philip Becher, left the Sand Law Firm, and his replacement attorney, Richard Sand, requested a continuance to afford him more time to prepare for the trial.

District Judge Richard Hagar granted the continuance, setting Rice’s trial for March 17-April 4 in Grand Forks.