by April Scheinoha
Editor
The guilt/innocence phase of a Thief River Falls murder trial is now in the hands of a Pennington County District Court judge.
Briefs were recently filed in the guilt/innocence phase of the murder trial of Jorge Luis Benitez-Estremera, 34. He has been charged with felony charges of first degree murder – premeditated and second degree murder – intent. Benitez-Estremera is accused of intentionally killing Steven Opdahl, 61, outside of DigiKey on May 9, 2023.
Opdahl, who lived in Oklee, had worked at DigiKey for about three years, according to a court filing. He died after he had gone outside to smoke a cigarette at about 9:45 p.m. that day. The two men were strangers.
According to the prosecution’s closing argument filed with the court, DigiKey security footage showed that Benitez-Estremera had arrived more than 20 minutes earlier to pick up his girlfriend, who worked at DigiKey. Shortly after Opdahl exited the building, he stood near Benitez-Estremera’s vehicle. Benitez-Estremera then walked up to him, knocked a cigarette and cup out of Opdahl’s hands, and punched him. The three-minute attack continued with Benitez-Estremera slamming Opdahl’s head into Benitez-Estremera’s windshield and later apparently attempting to break Opdahl’s neck. The attack ended after Benitez-Estremera struck Opdahl’s head and neck area 11 times with the top edge of an unmoored handicap parking sign. Opdahl tried multiple times to escape from Benitez-Estremera.
Benitez-Estremera was arrested hours later at a Thief River Falls apartment building near DigiKey.
An autopsy determined Opdahl died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck as a result of a homicide, according to the prosecution’s closing argument.
The prosecution argued that Benitez-Estremera should be found guilty of both charges. The defense argued that Benitez-Estremera was in the midst of delusions at the time of the incident and there was no evidence of premeditation.
Judge Tamara Yon took the matter under advisement Friday, May 2. If Yon finds Benitez-Estremera guilty of any of the charges, she would then rule on whether he knew the difference between right and wrong. Similar to the first phase, the second phase would also involve each side submitting briefs in order to assist Yon in making her ruling.
The trial has been bifurcated into two phases due to the results of two psychological reports, one privately obtained by the defense and the other privately obtained by the state.
In January, Benitez-Estremera waived his right to a jury trial and instead voiced his desire for a court trial before Yon. At that time, through an interpreter, he also said he desired to have a stipulated evidence trial. As a result, no witnesses are testifying. Instead, Yon will review evidence agreed upon by both sides to determine Benitez-Estremera’s guilt or innocence.
Prosecution’s closing argument
On March 21, Assistant Minnesota Attorney General John Gross and Interim Pennington County Attorney Nathan Haase filed their closing argument for the first phase of the trial. In their closing argument, they wrote that Dr. Lauren Huddle observed several lacerations on the left side of Opdahl’s face during the autopsy. Opdahl also suffered significant injuries to the right side of his head as well as a dislocated shoulder. “She saw a lot of blood splatter, abrasions and contusions on Steve Opdahl’s hands, arms, legs and other parts of his body,” they wrote. Huddle opined Opdahl’s injuries “occurred either before or right around the time of death.”
As part of the autopsy, an internal examination was also completed. Huddle found a “fracture, almost all the way across, to the top part of Steve Opdahl’s head, and hemorrhaging and bruising to his neck,” they wrote.
Earlier that day, Benitez-Estremera spent time with his live-in girlfriend, Grace Morales, before he took her to work at about 1 p.m. that day. The couple had been dating for four years at that point. The prosecution noted that Morales indicated Benitez-Estremera seemed withdrawn that day, but nothing concerned her. She said he had been a little depressed since he had been laid off about five months earlier from Arctic Cat. She said he completed household chores, watched YouTube videos and worked out before taking her to work.
After Morales went to work, the couple communicated via phone calls and text messages. Shortly before Morales left work for the evening, Benitez-Estremera called her. Whenever he would pick up her from work, he would call her to let her know that he was outside the building.
At about 10:07 p.m. that day, Morales exited the building and got into their vehicle. Shortly thereafter, she noticed that the windshield was broken and Benitez-Estremera was wearing a towel She asked him what had happened to the windshield. He didn’t answer. She asked him more questions, leading him to vaguely say he had been in a fight. Benitez-Estremera also told her “that she was safe and nothing was going to bother her anymore, and that there was a person staring at him.”
Morales told law enforcement that Benitez-Estremera eventually said a man stood next to the car. He told her that he felt threatened and punched the man. She said the couple didn’t know Opdahl.
In its closing argument, the prosecution argued that Benitez-Estremera intentionally killed Opdahl with premeditation. The attorneys wrote that it wasn’t necessary for premeditation to exist for a specific length of time. However, they noted some time, which may be short, needed to pass between someone forming the intent and carrying it out. They cited the prolonged attack, specifically the attempt to break Opdahl’s neck, the pursuit and assault with the unmoored handicap parking sign, and the continuation of the assault after Opdahl was incapacitated. The prosecution also pointed to Benitez-Estremera leaving Opdahl’s body, cleaning himself up, and disposing of evidence.
The prosecution further argued that security video showed Benitez-Estremera’s determination to kill Opdahl beforehand. In particular, they wrote that Benitez-Estremera “pulled him backwards, grabbed his neck, slammed his head into the windshield of the white Toyota with such force that it cracked the windshield, and punched him in the head.”
After Opdahl fell, they noted that Benitez-Estremera punched and kicked him multiple times. Over a minute after the attack began, they wrote, Benitez-Estremera stood over a seated Opdahl and tried to break his neck. After Opdahl broke free, he then punched Opdahl several times. Opdahl again tried to move away and began to run, but Benitez-Estremera chased him and threw him to the ground. He was able to escape, but Benitez-Estremera caught up with him, hit him with the sign and knocked him down. While Opdahl was lying on the ground, Benitez-Estremera struck him in the head and neck areas 11 times. The closing argument noted that Thief River Falls Police Deputy Chief Mike Roff described those blows as “full force blows.” Benitez-Estremera then left the sign on top of Opdahl in a fenced enclosure outside of DigiKey.
Benitez-Estremera then put on his sandals and returned to his car. He later washed his hands. A couple minutes later, Benitez-Estremera placed his blood-splattered clothes in a garbage can outside of the business. When his girlfriend arrived and asked about the windshield and his hand, he didn’t tell her what had happened.
Benitez-Estremera later spoke with law enforcement. He told two law enforcement officers what had happened and suggested that they should look at the security video from DigiKey. He said he wasn’t afraid of Opdahl and he started the fight with Opdahl, according to the prosecution’s closing argument. Benitez-Estremera also referred to Opdahl as different. At two different points, he said he had to take Opdahl out. One time, he referred to the need to take him “out of the system.”
Benitez-Estremera suffered a hand injury during the incident. After speaking with law enforcement, he was taken to the hospital to have medical professionals examine his hand. However, Benitez-Estremera refused treatment.
Defense’s final argument
On Friday, April 25, Benitez-Estremera’s attorneys filed their final argument with the court. Benitez-Estremera is represented by Assistant State Public Defender Steve Bergeson and Ninth Judicial District Assistant Public Defender Eric Gudmundson. In their brief, they argued that Benitez-Estremera was in the midst of delusions at the time of the incident. They indicated that two men were strangers, and they argued there was no motive. They wrote there was no evidence indicating that Benitez-Estremera was waiting for Opdahl to exit the building to smoke a cigarette. In addition, they indicated there was no evidence suggesting that Benitez-Estremera robbed Opdahl. Benitez-Estremera’s attorneys further noted there was no evidence that their client was trying to hide his role in Opdahl’s death.
“The evidence in this record shows that Mr. Benitez-Estremera’s decisions and conduct were characterized by a complete lack of forethought and generated by strong impulses under an unusual and negative emotional state,” they wrote.
Benitez-Estremera’s attorneys further argued that location of Opdahl’s wounds demonstrated that their client was acting rashly and impulsively.
A series of blows aren’t a sufficient basis for premeditation in a first degree murder case, according to the defense attorneys. They wrote there must be additional evidence of a long and severe attack.
State’s reply to defense’s final argument
Gross and Haase responded to the defense’s final argument. On Thursday, May 1, they filed their response with the court.
They noted that the defense ignored Benitez-Estremera’s attempt to break Opdahl’s neck. They referred to the attempted breaking of Opdahl’s neck as the “first clear indication” that Benitez-Estremera planned to kill Opdahl. About 40 seconds later, he began using the handicap parking sign. The prosecution argued that was “more than enough ‘appreciable time’ for [Benitez-Estremera] to ‘consider, plan or prepare for, or determine to commit’ Steven Opdahl’s murder.”
The prosecution further noted the defense ignored the length and severity of the attack. The attorneys also indicated that the crime scene confused people, who initially reported to 911 dispatchers that Opdahl’s death may have been a suicide.