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Crime, Law and Justice
Cari Spencer

Red Lake mother charged with murder, arson and child neglect after Amber Alert and house fire

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The Red Lake mother who was arrested in March after an Amber Alert was issued for her toddler — and on the same day two of her children were found dead after a house fire — was charged with murder, arson and child neglect in U.S. District Court.

Jennifer Stately, 35, pleaded not guilty Monday at the federal courthouse in Duluth.

Stately was pulled over by Todd County law enforcement March 15, shortly after an Amber Alert was issued for her 3-year-old son. He was found in her back seat, covered in open sores, and struggled to walk and chew food, according to law enforcement accounts.

That day, two of Stately’s young children, Remi and Tristan Stately, ages 6 and 5, were found dead in a house fire.

Stately slashed at two of her sons with a sharp object and set fire to the house, according to court records. She then allegedly fatally stabbed one of her sons in the chest. The other died from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of the fire, the document states.

According to court records, Stately’s toddler was also with her at the house, before she fled the scene with him.

Stately’s attorney, Paul Engh, stated in an email to MPR News that the defense has “a firm basis” for her not guilty plea.

The Todd County Attorney’s Office dismissed child abuse charges last month but did not comment on why those charges were dismissed.

Stately’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges on the grounds Todd County did not have jurisdiction, as Stately is from Red Lake Nation, which is exempt from a federal act that grants some states criminal jurisdiction on Native American reservations.

The case was being investigated by the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Todd County Sheriff’s Office, Long Prairie Police Department and Red Lake Police Department.

Judge Leo I. Brisbois ordered Stately to remain in custody pending further proceedings. A motion hearing is set for June 17.