MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — Nearly three years to the date after a 36-year-old man was found dead along a popular Montevideo walking path, a postal worker discovered the body of a 69-year-old man with fatal stab wounds — just blocks away.
The two deaths have no connection, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Their investigations do, however, have similarities.
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In both cases, information provided to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office by the Montevideo Police Department played a critical role in the process of determining the cause and manner of death.
Both cases were investigated as suspicious deaths — and death certificates in both cases list suicide as the manner of death.
Refugio Rodriguez was found in Chinhinta Park on Sept. 20, 2020, on his knees, with a hose, connected to a tree, tied around his neck.
A Forum News Service investigation showed police did not investigate credible leads indicating threats against Rodriguez’s life. Critical details in the police report contradicted the autopsy’s final summary, and evidence collected at the scene was ignored. It is still not known where the hose originated. Instead, police promptly closed the case and labeled Rodriguez’s death a suicide.
Forum News Service reporting on Rodriguez’s case prompted a review of the investigation by the BCA. The review is ongoing.
Mitch Twite was discovered with a stab wound in the early morning hours of Sept. 18, 2023, in a grassy area adjacent to the parking lot of the Montevideo post office, located across the street from the bar where he worked.
His death was deemed suspicious, according to a press release issued on Sept. 18, 2023, by the Montevideo Police Department.
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“The Montevideo Police Department is investigating a suspicious death after a postal worker discovered the body of a man at 6:30 this morning,” the press release states.
The release indicated there was no known threat to the public.
One year later, his investigation remains open — and his publicly available death certificate, signed by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, indicates he “stabbed self with knife, and intentionally jumped from high wall.”
Despite the information provided on Twite’s official death certificate, the Montevideo Police Department’s official investigation is not closed. Twite’s case is considered an open and active investigation. His investigative file will become publicly available when — and if — his case is closed.
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office’s general guidelines for concluding the cause and manner of death include three key components: death scene investigation, knowledge of circumstances, and the autopsy itself.
In Chippewa County, the death scene investigation and knowledge of circumstances surrounding his death are provided to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office by the responding law enforcement agency.
In Twite’s case, the Montevideo Police Department responded to the scene, assisted by the BCA.
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Montevideo Police Chief Ken Schule declined to comment on information provided on the death certificate that indicates Twite stabbed himself before jumping off a fenced ledge. The fence stands roughly 3 feet high.
Schule did tell Forum News Service in May that the investigation was open and ongoing.
“We have hopes of being able to provide a case update soon, once we are able to provide more information,” Schule said in an email at the time.
In an Oct. 31 follow-up email, Schule said he had “no new updates at this time.”
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office declined to answer questions about the circumstances surrounding Twite’s death, citing the classification of the investigation as open and active.
How does the MMEO determine manner and cause of death?
The autopsy process, in cases related to suspicious deaths in Chippewa County, begins when law enforcement contacts the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office to report the discovery of a body.
Then, the investigation begins.
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In cases within Chippewa County jurisdiction — where Rodriguez and Twite were both discovered — local law enforcement is responsible for the death scene investigation and the investigation dedicated to uncovering information related to the circumstances that led to the death.
In Rodriguez’s case, the BCA was not called to the scene. The initial investigation was handled solely by the Montevideo Police Department.
In Twite’s case, the Montevideo Police Department responded to the scene and was assisted by the BCA. However, the Montevideo Police Department is considered the lead investigating agency.
The third part of the process in determining the manner and cause of death includes a full autopsy, including a toxicology report, conducted by Midwest Medical Examiner pathologists.
Once all steps have been completed — crime scene investigation, death investigation and autopsy — a manner and cause of death is determined.
The death certificate is produced and becomes available to the public, and the full autopsy report is provided to the deceased’s family members.
The conclusion of the autopsy report does not automatically close law enforcement’s investigation, though.
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The law enforcement investigation concludes only when the lead agency’s investigators definitely determine the cause of the death. When a case is closed in Minnesota, the contents of the file become available to the public through an official data request.
If an agency does not officially conclude a case, it will remain open — and unavailable to the public.
This is part of an ongoing series related to Twite's death.
The Trust Project
