A 19-year-old Hibbing man was charged Tuesday in connection with the death of his roommate, whose body was found severely beaten and burned near a former mine on the Iron Range last week.
Dylan Bernard Gilbertson was charged with second-degree murder in St. Louis County District Court for allegedly stabbing 20-year-old Jaysen Greenwood to death, then dumping his body in a ditch near the property line of Mott Pit.
Greenwood, also of Hibbing, was discovered by a person walking along the former iron ore mine, southwest of Mountain Iron, Minn. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension used fingerprint analysis to identify him.
Investigators believe Greenwood died fewer than 24 hours before being discovered Thursday around 10:45 a.m. Forensic investigators said he had suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the head.
Greenwood attended Hibbing High School and worked as a laborer at Lake States Tree Service, according his social media accounts. He shared videos and posted to his Facebook page as recently as Wednesday evening.
According to the criminal complaint:
Greenwood's family told police that he drove a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am, which was seen parked outside his residence on Wednesday morning but not on Thursday when his father drove past.
When police visited his apartment on Friday night, they saw the car sitting out back with a gas can inside. Its tread marks appeared to match those near the dump site.
While searching the apartment on Saturday, police found bloodstains, along with areas that appeared to have been recently cleaned, a garbage bag full of bloody work boots and a bloody wooden paddle.
A carpet shampooer also was located.
Roommates who live in the apartment with Greenwood and Gilbertson identified the boots as belonging to Gilbertson. One roommate told authorities that Gilbertson had asked to borrow the shampooer from his mother on Thursday.
Another roommate said the young men had been fighting because Gilbertson accused Greenwood of stealing property from him, documents show.
Sgt. Luke Hendrickson said Gilbertson was arrested "without incident" about 8:45 p.m. Saturday.
Gilbertson told police that Greenwood allowed him to borrow the car for several days and that he last saw Greenwood late Wednesday night, when he left for an unknown location, according to the charges.
Gilbertson, a mechanic, does not appear to have a criminal record. He remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.
Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648
