by April Scheinoha
Reporter
A Thief River Falls man has been charged with second degree murder in connection with the death of a Digi-Key employee outside of the business Tuesday night. He is accused of punching the Oklee man about 17 times and repeatedly striking him with a sign. Surveillance video captured the entire attack.
Jorge Luis Benitez-Estremera, 32, has been charged with two counts of felony second degree murder and a felony count of third degree assault. One murder charge alleges he intentionally killed Steven Opdahl, 61. The other murder charge alleges he murdered Opdahl while committing or attempting to commit an assault.
Benitez-Estremera was found about two hours after the 911 call. He remains in custody at the Pennington County Jail.
At about 10:12 p.m. Tuesday, Pennington County dispatch received a medical call stating that Opdahl, a Digi-Key employee, wasn’t breathing and was lying on the ground in the designated smoking area on the east side of the building. Opdahl had suffered severe trauma to the left portion of his head. Next to his body was a parking pole with a sign. Blood was also visible in various areas near his body, and bloody clothing was found in a nearby garbage can.
Law enforcement watched surveillance video of the assault, noting the unique characteristics of the suspect’s vehicle. They later allegedly found the vehicle outside of a Thief River Falls apartment building and arrested Benitez-Estremera, whose appearance matched the suspect. Agents from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force later interviewed Benitez-Estremera with the assistance of Language Line. He allegedly admitted assaulting Opdahl, whom he didn’t know and of whom he wasn’t afraid. He said Opdahl “was contaminated and needed to be taken out of the system.”
Benitez-Estremera assaulted Opdahl while waiting for his girlfriend to leave work. Upon entering her boyfriend’s car, she noticed that Benitez-Estremera wasn’t wearing any pants. He told her that he had gotten into a fight with someone after the individual had been looking at him. She asked him how the car windshield had been damaged. He said he didn’t know. She later told authorities that Benitez-Estremera said he felt threatened when Opdahl was smoking near his car. He told her that he punched Opdahl because he felt a negative force from Opdahl.
The woman said Benitez-Estremera had “never been arrested for anything, never assaulted anyone or been violent towards her or anyone else.”
According to the complaint, the three-minute attack began after Opdahl went outside for a smoke break at 9:44 p.m. Tuesday. At the time, Benitez-Estremera, who doesn’t work at Digi-Key, was waiting in his vehicle. The complaint indicated that Opdahl displayed no aggression to Benitez-Estremera. He walked around near Benitez-Estremera’s car and smoked his cigarette, ultimately standing in front of and facing Benitez-Estremera’s car. Benitez-Estremera then exited his car, knocked the cigarette away from Opdahl and threw Opdahl’s cup. He soon assaulted Opdahl, ultimately punching him about 17 times with most of the punches hitting him in the head. At one point, he grabbed Opdahl by the neck, pushed him toward the car and slammed Opdahl’s head into the windshield of Benitez-Estremera’s car, causing damage.
Opdahl tried to protect himself from the blows and, at different times, he could be seen exchanging words with Benitez-Estremera. He tried to run away several times. At one point, Benitez-Estremera whipped Opdahl around and threw him to the ground. On Opdahl’s second attempt to escape the attack, Benitez-Estremera chased him while holding the sign. Benitez-Estremera reached him, hitting him in the head with the top of the sign. Opdahl then fell to the ground and was motionless. Benitez-Estremera continued hitting him multiple times with the sign. The blows hit Opdahl’s head and neck area. He then threw the sign at Opdahl, put his sandals back on and returned to his car.
During the course of the assault, Benitez-Estremera also stomped on Opdahl’s chest twice, kicked him many times in the left shoulder area, dragged him backwards about four feet and attempted to twist his head.
For about 20 minutes, Benitez-Estremera remained in the area. Meanwhile, Opdahl’s motionless body remained nearby.
Benitez-Estremera exited his vehicle a few times – to wash his hands with a water jug from his trunk and later deposit his bloody clothing in the garbage can. Outside of the vehicle, Benitez-Estremera also stared toward Opdahl’s body for about seven seconds. Benitez-Estremera left the scene at 10:08 p.m. Tuesday after his girlfriend finished her shift and got into the car. There was no indication that his girlfriend ever saw Opdahl’s body.
Less than three minutes after the couple left, an employee found Opdahl after exiting Digi-Key for a smoke break. No one else was around. She then called 911.
Law enforcement soon reviewed surveillance video, seeing Benitez-Estremera arrive about an hour earlier to pick up his girlfriend from Digi-Key. They located Benitez-Estremera after noting the unique characteristics of his car.
Shortly after reviewing surveillance video, police officers, Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Mekash and deputies began searching for and found the suspect vehicle. They knocked on the door of the apartment to which the parking spot was assigned. No one answered the door. They entered the apartment, finding Benitez-Estremera and his girlfriend. Benitez-Estremera allegedly appeared to match the individual who assaulted Opdahl.
While other law enforcement officers searched for Benitez-Estremera and his vehicle, Deputy Police Chief Mike Roff remained at Digi-Key until the BCA could arrive. He spoke with the vice president of Digi-Key, who asked whether the business should shut down. Roff believed it was safest for the employees to remain in the building since the suspect had left, he was still at large and the building was secured.