Red Lake Mother Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Her Two Children and Setting Fire to Their Home
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced on November 6 that Jennifer Marie Stately, 37, of Red Lake in northern Minnesota, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering two of her young children. Stately was convicted by a federal jury on February 25, 2026, following a two-and-a-half-week trial, on five counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson. She was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim on November 6, 2026.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on March 15, 2024, Stately, while alone with the children at their home on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, assaulted the boys, causing numerous injuries, and attacked them with a knife. She fatally stabbed her older son before setting the home on fire. Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) determined that Stately used gasoline and lighter fluid to ignite three separate fires, including fires at both exit points of the home. The older boy died of his sharp force injuries, while the younger boy was trapped inside and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
After setting the fire, Stately fled the scene and was missing for several hours. The Red Lake Tribal Police Department issued an AMBER Alert, and less than an hour later a motorist spotted Stately in Todd County, approximately 150 miles south of her home. The Minnesota State Patrol, the Todd County Sheriff's Department and the Long Prairie Police Department responded, and she was apprehended and booked into the Todd County Jail.
"Jennifer Stately's murder of two of her children shocks the conscience. I offer my deepest condolences to the family and Red Lake community who lost two innocent lives," said U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson said the sentence ensures Stately is held accountable for the unimaginable violence she inflicted on two young children. ATF St. Paul Field Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph Persails said one child may have survived the injuries inflicted upon him, but the fire his mother set ultimately sealed his fate, a reminder that arson is not merely a property crime.
The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the ATF, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Todd County Sheriff's Department, the Long Prairie Police Department and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett S. Fields prosecuted the case. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota
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