Man Charged for Murder of Rochester Woman Whose Body Was Found in Ditch

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Rochester man accused of killing 41-year-old Kimberly Robinson, whose body was discovered in a northwest Rochester ditch on December 26, made his first appearance in Olmsted County Court Wednesday. 

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39-year-old Mustafa Bush was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder without intent, second-degree murder while committing a felony and first-degree drug possession. An Olmsted County judge set his bail at $3 million. 

The criminal complaint says Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office investigators learned that Bush and Robinson had been living together for two years at a residence in the 900 block of 9 ½ St. Southeast and were in a romantic relationship together. A family member of Robinson told investigators Robinson told her she was staying with a friend after she and Bush got into a fight. 

Court documents indicate Robinson was last seen alive and with Bush during the evening hours of Christmas Eve and the early morning hours of Christmas Day. A person who knows Bush told officers they helped Bush free his vehicle from snow at a residence in the 1400 block of Marion Rd. Southeast around 11:45 p.m. Christmas night. The person told investigators that Bush had a large suitcase in the front area of his vehicle that was too heavy to move, the complaint says. 

Members of the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crimes Enforcement Team then began conducting surveillance on Bush on December 27. They observed Bush moving items between his vehicle and his 9 ½ St. residence. Surveillance conducted on December 28 found  Bush and other persons moving items from his vehicle and two other vehicles, one of which was used to transport Bush to the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) that same day, according to the complaint. 

Investigators searched the vehicle that brought Bush to the LEC. They retrieved a bag and found clothes that Bush was wearing when he was last seen with Robinson, financial cards in Bush’s name and half-pound of a substance that field tested positive for cocaine, the complaint says. 

A subsequent search of Bush’s vehicle on December 29 uncovered blood pooling in the front passenger area and blood on the driver’s side seatbelt. The charges say forensic testing to determine the source of the blood has not yet been completed. Authorities also found women’s clothing and makeup in Bush’s vehicle during the search on December 29, court documents say.

Investigators also interviewed one of Bush’s relatives who told them Bush had confided in her that he had hurt his girlfriend. Bush was at the relative’s residence at the time of the interview, according to the complaint. 

The complaint says investigators then received tracking data for phones belonging to both Robinson and Bush. The devices appeared to have been together at the 9 ½ St. residence until about 8:45 p.m. on Christmas Day when Bush’s device had lost connection with the towers. 

Robinson’s device was then tracked to the Marion Rd. residence before it was seen moving into northwest Rochester. The complaint says the device lost communication in an area near West River Rd. around 9 p.m. Christmas night. 

Preliminary findings of an autopsy conducted on December 28 indicated Robinson died from a fatal gunshot wound to her neck. Investigators who processed the alleged murder scene concluded that Robinson’s body appeared to have been dragged through the snow to an area roughly 7-10 yards from the intersection of West River Rd. and River Bluffs Ln. 

Robinson’s body was found around 4:30 p.m. on December 26 by a woman walking her dog. The woman called 911 after the dog led her down into the ditch where the woman saw an arm sticking up out of the snow. 

Court records indicate Bush was convicted of Second-degree murder in Olmsted County in 2007. Bush had served two-thirds of his prison sentence and had been out of prison on supervised release since March 2020. 

Bush was arrested after refusing to give a statement to investigators at the LEC on December 28. The next hearing in the case has not yet been scheduled.