Friends of fallen bartender search for justice in the wake of death certificate determination

This is part 2 of an ongoing series on the death of Mitch Twite.

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — The large storefront window of Inn Like Flinn’s serves as a constant reminder to patrons of a loved one lost — and the ongoing quest for justice.

Mitch Twite tended bar at the downtown Montevideo establishment for nearly 30 years before he was found stabbed to death on Sept. 18, 2023 next to the postal office parking lot directly across the street. His body was discovered in a grassy area just below a roughly 25-foot fenced ledge, bordering a walking trail that led to Mitch’s home.

Trisha Taurinskas / Forum News Service

The Montevideo Police Department initially deemed Twite’s death as suspicious, yet the publicly available death certificate states he stabbed himself with a knife and intentionally jumped from a high wall.

More than a year after his sudden death , Twite’s friends are left with the sting of grief, compounded by a sense of injustice and frustration.

Multiple individuals close to Twite told Forum News Service they do not believe he climbed a fenced ledge, stabbed himself and jumped to his demise — and they’re eager for answers.

"I felt that it was not a proper stamp on his death certificate because he wasn’t the kind of person who ever showed signs of that," Jacqueline Haukos, who knew Twite for most of her life, told Forum News Service. "He always had a zest for life.”

The Vault

Stabbing victim’s death certificate says fatal wound was self-inflicted. The police file remains open

Discovery of Mitch Twite’s body came three years after Refugio Rodriguez was discovered in a nearby park. Both deaths were deemed suspicious before labeled as suicides on their death certificates.

Nov 6, 2024

 · 

By  Trisha Taurinskas

While the official Montevideo Police Department’s case has not been closed, the death certificate provides a glimpse into the investigative process.

Twite’s autopsy, conducted by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, states he died from blunt and sharp force injuries to his head, neck and trunk. The events that led to his death are determined through local law enforcement’s investigation, according to the MMEO.

Twite’s investigation is being led by the Montevideo Police Department, in coordination with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

“He was just the kind of guy that kind of welcomed you in,” Taylor Donahue, who knew Twite for 15 years, told Forum News Service. “He was friends with everybody.”

Contributed / Inn Like Flinn's

That’s a sentiment echoed among those who had grown close with Twite over the years. While not known for his bubbly personality, Twite had a reputation of being a smart man who gave honest advice and looked out for the well-being of his patrons.

"You knew in the moment, when talking to him, that he really listened," Donahue said. "He really listened."

His attitude toward life — even in the midst of hardships — doesn’t align with his official cause of death, Haukos said.

The death certificate is the final record of a person’s life. The cause and manner of death tell the end of an individual’s story. That’s a harsh reality for Twite’s friends to wrap their heads around.

“It makes my family and I sick to our stomachs because that’s not justice, and that’s not protecting our community,“ Haukos said.

Twite’s death certificate states he died by committing a statistically unlikely act of self-inflicted pain.

Self-inflicted stabbings account for three percent of all suicides in the United States, according to the National Library of Medicine. Thirty percent of men in that category stab themselves in the stomach. Twite’s death certificate states he suffered a stab wound to his torso. It does not specify the exact location.

There is currently no statistical data related to deaths that involve both self-inflicted stab wounds and intentional leaps from high ledges.

The 25-foot ledge Twite allegedly jumped from included a roughly three-foot metal fence, creating an extra barrier for those seeking to jump.

“He did his walking up and down the streets, but to lift his leg? I don't even think he probably could have lift that high,” Haukos said.

As Twite collected numerous friends, he also garnered some enemies.

Twite’s tenure of bartending led to a legacy of fairness and toughness. His matter-of-fact attitude didn’t always sit well with some patrons, particularly those who weren’t familiar with his style of barstool management.

“From what I viewed of Mitch in the past, he would sit in his seat when his shift was done. If someone was heckling the bartender or had been cut off, he would ask them to leave,” Haukos said.

Not everyone understood — or appreciated — his hard-knock attitude toward those who disrupted the peace or harassed bar staff and patrons.

"Some people didn’t understand where he was coming from, but some people don’t want to understand it,” Haukos said. “In some cases there were language barriers or new community members. But Mitch treated everyone the same.”