A Minnesota grand jury brought a three-count indictment against a mand who allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend just days after he was released from jail for assaulting her twice.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that Matthew Scott Brenneman, 39, was indicted on one count of first degree murder and two counts of second degree murder.
“Our thoughts are with the victim’s family as they navigate this terrible chapter of their lives,” Moriarty said. “Intimate partner violence requires a powerful response. It is an act that leaves traumatized survivors and devastated families in its wake. We are aggressively prosecuting those who commit this violence.”
Brenneman was initially charged in August, after Danicka Bergeson, 33, was found dead in her apartment on July 8, KARE reported. Investigators said she had been dead for at least a day when her body was found. The medical examiner was unable to determine a cause of death, but her body was covered in abrasions and bruising and she was wrapped in blankets and a plastic garbage bag.
Brenneman was also at the apartment, having swallowed bleach in an attempt to kill him self.
Bergeson had a restraining order in place against her abusive former partner at the time.
Court documents say Brenneman was initially charged in April with assaulting Bergeson and released the next day, only to assault her again in May. In June, he pleaded guilty in both cases and was released from jail pending sentencing, which was scheduled for August.
Brenneman left a note after drinking the bleach in which he claimed he never loved anyone as much as he loved the woman he murdered and said he “can’t try to live after this.”
He was being held on a $1.5 million bond after the initial second degree murder charges; the bond was increased to $2 million after the indictment. He is due in court again on December 18.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Danicka Bergeson/handout and Matthew Scott Brenneman/Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office]
