Red Lake woman sentenced to life in prison for murder of 2 children

FERGUS FALLS — A federal judge sentenced a Red Lake woman to life in prison for the murder of two of her children.

Jennifer Stately, 37, received the mandatory life sentence Friday, Nov. 6, in Fergus Falls. A Minneapolis jury convicted her of five counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson in February.

According to the evidence presented at the trial, on March 15, 2024, Stately attacked and stabbed two of her sons. She then doused the entrances of their home with accelerants before setting the structure on fire and fleeing the area with her youngest son.

The autopsies revealed the older boy died because of his stab wounds, and the younger died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the fire. The boys were ages 5 and 6 at the time of their deaths.

As first responders at the scene in Red Lake determined a third child lived in the home with Stately, the Red Lake Nation issued the first-ever Amber Alert from a Minnesota tribal nation. A motorist spotted Stately's vehicle less than an hour later in Todd County, about 150 miles south. The 3-year-old child was placed into protective custody, showing numerous signs of maltreatment and neglect.

A jury rejected Stately's plea of insanity during the two-and-a-half-week trial.

In a news release, Red Lake Tribal Police Chief Kendall Kingbird Sr. thanked the federal, state and local partners who assisted with “finding justice for the devastating loss of two innocent children."

“Although no punishment can ever be equal to the lives lost, the sentence reflects the gravity of the crime,” Kingbird’s statement continued.

“The memory of our two young community members will forever be in our thoughts and prayers of the Red Lake Nation,”

In sentencing documents filed Oct. 23, prosecutors urged the judge to reject the defense's arguments against the mandatory life sentence after the jury’s conviction.

They describe Stately as an "extremely troubled woman with a terribly troubling past," but her acts that day "shock the conscience and shatter the soul."

“By law, she is subject to a mandatory sentence of life in prison. It’s the sentence the Court is required to issue. It’s the sentence the crimes deserve,” the attorneys wrote.