Rochester Woman Sentenced in 2018 Murder Case
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A second person has been sentenced to prison for their involvement in the murder of a Rochester man in the fall of 2018.
36-year-old Kielah Parsons was ordered to spend 46 months in prison, while she was given credit for the 532 days she has spent in jail since her arrest following the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Brandon Arndt. Parsons previously entered an Alford plea to a charge of Aiding an Offender-Accomplice After the Fact, which means she did not admit guilt but acknowledged there is sufficient evidence to convict her.
Parsons originally faced two counts of second-degree murder stemming from the shooting death of Arndt at his residence in the southeast Rochester mobile home park on September 10, 2018. The man convicted of actually shooting the victim, Malcolm Woods, was found guilty of first-degree murder charges and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
A third defendant, 21-year-old Darian Klindworth-Woods, entered a guilty plea to Aiding an Offender-Accomplice After the Fact in May. His sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
Prosecutors alleged Malcolm Woods killed Arndt because the three defendants mistakenly believed he had something to do with a medical emergency suffered by their grandmother the day before the murder occurred. Arndt lived next door and often provided assistance to the elderly woman.
News Update: COVID-19: Olmsted County Reports 13th Death