Ex-Boyfriend Charged with Bemidji Area Woman’s Murder

BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) — A Bemidji man is charged with murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend who had been missing for nearly two months.

Forty-year-old Marchello Anthony Cimmarusti appeared in Beltrami County court Friday to face second-degree murder charges in the death of Rose Downwind of Redby. The charges come just two days after Cimmarusti turned himself in to Bemidji police. Minnesota Public Radio News (http://bit.ly/1QDma5I) reports he led investigators to her shallow grave northwest of Bemidji Wednesday night.

Another Bemidji man, 31-year-old Brandon Rossbach, is charged with aiding an offender for his alleged role in disposing of Downwind's body.

Downwind was the granddaughter of American Indian Movement co-founder Dennis Banks.

According to the criminal complaint, Cimmarusti told police he didn't intend to kill Downwind, but that an argument got out of control.