Judge will read verdict next week in trial for man accused of killing Moorhead teen

Contributed / Clay County Correctional Facility By Tasha Carvell Today at 2:57 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? MOORHEAD — More than two years after 14-year-old Jaelyn Walker's body was discovered partially submerged in the Red River, the verdict in the trial of the man accused of murdering her will be read in open court in Clay County next week. A nearly two-week-long bench trial in the case against 20-year-old Isaac Arndt wrapped up on Oct. 28, and, last week, prosecutors and defense attorneys submitted written briefs detailing their closing arguments. ADVERTISEMENT Arndt has been jailed in Clay County since Aug. 23, 2024 , four days after prosecutors say he asked Walker, with whom he'd broken off a dating relationship earlier that summer, to meet him at a bench near Gooseberry Park where they often went, then "lured" her to a secluded wooded area where he stabbed her 53 times, killing her. "On August 19, 2024, the Defendant ... finalized his relationship with Jaelyn Walker once and for all in the most brutal way possible," Chief Assistant Clay County Attorney Pam Foss wrote. "Arndt played on the emotions of a lovesick teenager to ... put an end to what to him was an inconvenience. After brutally stabbing her ... he dragged her body to the Red River, put her in the river and sped away on his scooter to what he believed would be freedom." After Arndt stabbed Walker, the state alleged, his plans for escaping went awry when he could not stop the bleeding from a cut to his hand he sustained during the stabbing, so "he made up an incredulous story claiming to be the victim of an unprovoked attack by an unknown white man," Foss wrote. Contributed / Moorhead Police Department But Arndt's "story didn’t match up with the forensic evidence, and ... eventually he admitted to law enforcement that he not only stabbed Jaelyn Walker ... but that he consciously made the decision to go back to her as she laid bleeding, lungs collapsed, arteries severed, a liver punctured and ribs broken to 'finish it' with a final stab wound to end her suffering; the suffering he inflicted," the state's closing brief read. Arndt's attorneys, Steve Bergeson and Lisa Tufts, argued the state had not proven that Arndt premeditated or intentionally caused Walker's death in their closing brief. "There is no evidence of preparation, no meaningful planning activity, and no credible motive," Bergeson and Tufts wrote. "The meeting at the park bench was ordinary, not contrived. There is no evidence that Mr. Arndt acquired a weapon for the purpose of killing Ms. Walker, selected a location to facilitate a murder, enlisted anyone's assistance, or made any arrangements to conceal the crime or escape its consequences." The defense attorneys argued that Arndt's "conduct after the killing is equally inconsistent with a calculated plan." ADVERTISEMENT "Mr. Arndt went home, called 911, identified himself, and went to the police station. He did not flee, destroy evidence, conceal the knife, or take calculated steps to avoid detection. His conduct is far more consistent with panic, confusion, and poor decisions by an 18-year-old suddenly confronted with a catastrophic situation than it is with a calculated plan to kill and avoid detection," Bergeson and Tufts wrote. Instead, they argued, the evidence presented at trial "provides a rational basis to consider the lesser-included offense of second-degree unintentional murder." In her reply brief to Bergeson's and Tufts' closing argument, Foss pointed to two dozen pieces of evidence proven at trial which she said rebutted their claims, including evidence that showed Arndt had tried to cover up the crime by discarding clothing, a backpack, a scooter and his phone, and creating the false narrative about the unknown attacker. Foss pointed to evidence that showed Arndt packed gloves, a knife from his kitchen, and a change of clothes to take to his meeting with Walker, as well as created a new phone number and used a TextNow app for the first time to contact her to set up the meeting. "Arndt never asked if Jaelyn was OK but only if they had found her yet," Foss wrote of his interview with detectives. "Arndt never shed a tear when he heard her body was recovered nor during the interviews. Instead he attempted to fake emotion until he could come up with his next version of events." Tufts and Bergeson said the case was "a tragic story of panic not premeditation," and urged Judge Tammy Merkins to consider the evidence "through the lens of the age and maturity of Mr. Arndt. He was 18 years old on August 19, 2024." "A witness ... who helped him with the 911 call and gave him a ride to the Moorhead police department, described him as he 'looked like a kid,'" they wrote. "Common sense says that a young person, confronted with something catastrophic, may react with fear, denial, and bad improvisation. Lying in a panic is not planning. A frightened young person making up a story on the spot is not the same as an adult constructing a deliberate scheme." ADVERTISEMENT On Tuesday, Nov. 10, Merkins scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at the Clay County Courthouse, at which she will announce her verdict in the case. In Minnesota, the penalty for first-degree premeditated murder is a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of release. Second-degree murder with intent carries with it a maximum 40-year prison sentence. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags CRIME AND COURTS CRIME HOMICIDE By Tasha Carvell Tasha covers the criminal justice system and North Dakota's congressional delegation for The Forum. She can be reached at 701-241-5527 or [email protected] . 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