Murder charges against a Lakeville man were dropped Wednesday morning though authorities are still searching for the body of the Vadnais Heights woman who he had been accused of killing.
Timothy James Barr, 51, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of criminal vehicular homicide in September.
He was accused of killing Michelle Lee Newell, 45, who was seen with him the day she went missing, Aug. 29.
Without her body or evidence of a crime scene, it’s unknown where Newell actually has been killed. Without that information it’s also unknown which agency has jurisdiction to prosecute charges in her alleged murder, so the Ramsey County attorney’s office dismissed the charges against Barr.
“None of the allegations … provide probable cause to believe that any of the events that are the basis for the charges were committed within Minnesota,” said the motion for dismissal, submitted by Barr’s defense attorneys.
Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro accepted the dismissal.
According to police informants, Barr made comments indicating that he argued with Newell and ran over her with his car, killing her, before disposing of the body, possibly in North or South Dakota, the criminal complaint said.
As authorities continue their search, the investigation into what happened remains active, said Dennis Gerhardstein, the spokesman for the Ramsey County attorney’s office. Depending on what is uncovered, charges could be refiled against Barr at a later date, but only after jurisdictional issues are worked out, Gerhardstein added.
Newell’s friends said she and Barr had been spending time together in recent months.
Cellphone records indicate that on the day she went missing, the two exchanged a text message about going somewhere four and a half hours away. Phone records place Barr in North Dakota the night of Aug. 29. His phone remained in the state until at least Aug. 31, the complaint said.
Police saw Barr cleaning out his car with bleach in St. Paul in early September and tried to arrest him, but he jumped in the car and drove off, evading them for a day.
He pleaded guilty Wednesday to fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle.
Given his criminal history, Barr faces a presumptive sentence of 19 months in prison for that crime when he is sentenced Nov. 17, Gerhardstein said.
He will remain in prison until sentencing.
Connie Iversen, one of Barr’s defense attorneys, said following Wednesday’ hearing that she was pleased the court made the “correct decision based on the law,” to drop the murder charges against her client.
So was Barr, she added.
“Obviously having a murder charge dismissed is a good thing for anybody,” Iversen said.
BARR STILL ‘PRIMARY SUSPECT’
Barr remains law enforcement’s primary suspect in the case despite the legal development, according to Ramsey County authorities.
“Based on the statements (Barr) made to informants and the evidence that has come forward, we still believe he is (responsible) for her death,” said Sgt. John Eastham of the Ramsey County sheriff’s office.
Authorities continue to search for the mother of four’s body, which they believe is likely located in a farm building in eastern North or South Dakota based on disclosures Barr allegedly made to informants.
The dismissal of charges against Barr has no impact on the investigation underway, Eastham said.
“We have had a sense of urgency since the moment she disappeared and that is continuing,” Eastham said.
Since the charges were filed in mid-September, the Ramsey County and Cass County, N.D., sheriff’s offices asked anyone east of Jamestown, N.D., or Aberdeen, S.D., to search their outbuildings and barns for Newell’s body.
Ramsey County sheriff’s officials have said that Barr told one of their confidential informants that he left Newell’s remains covered with hay in the corner of an abandoned South Dakota farm building.
He has a lengthy criminal history, including several convictions for drug possession, as well as criminal damage to property and obstructing the legal process.
He is also awaiting trial in Dakota County for domestic assault by strangulation charges.
DAUGHTER SAYS MOM WAS ‘MISUNDERSTOOD’ IN LIFE
Brooke Newell, Michelle Newell’s oldest living child, said rumors and misinformation have swirled since her mom’s disappearance. The claims make a difficult situation harder, she said.
With the few relatives her mom has out of state, the 21-year-old is tasked with cleaning out her mom’s Vadnais Heights apartment.
Her mother lived there along with Brooke Newell’s youngest brother. Michelle Newell had two other children as well, Brooke Newell said, including her half-brother, who died in years past.
It’s overwhelming to pack up her mom’s belongings and work through next steps with her landlord when she doesn’t even have a death certificate proving her mom died, Brooke Newell said.
“I honestly don’t want to do any of it. I just want to grieve in peace and not deal with all of these things,” she said.
She said she and her siblings are living with her paternal grandparents. Her parents divorced in 2013 and her father, Gregory Newell, is in federal prison in Colorado. He was sentenced in 2014 in federal court in North Dakota to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, according to court documents.
Both of her parents struggled with addiction, Brooke Newell said. Complicating circumstances for her mother were brain injuries. She said her mom suffered blows to the head from a previous romantic partner and also was injured in a car accident.
“She did the best she could with what she was working with,” Brooke Newell said. “Just because her mind didn’t work right doesn’t give anyone an excuse to treat her like crap.”
Her fondest memories of her mother are of time the two spent spent in the garden and with animals. Her mom cared for parakeets, cats, bulldogs and other strays.
“She is a beautiful, misunderstood soul,” Brook Newell said. “She would get her heart broken all the time over the tragedies that happen in this world, and she just cared so much with every part of her being.”
FRIENDS UPSET OVER DISMISSAL OF CHARGES
Carolyn Bain, Newell’s neighbor and friend in Vadnais Heights, said the thought of Barr not being held responsible for Newell’s death makes her ill.
“He takes somebody with a real life and he thinks he has a right to be out here. … It makes me want to puke,” she said through tears. “He killed her. He knows it and we know it. Just tell us where she is.”
Tara Hughes, another friend of Newell’s, was at the court hearing Wednesday. She said Barr’s dismissal makes her fearful that her friend’s case is slipping through the cracks.
“I’m devastated,” Hughes said. “I feel so literally sick. … I thought there would be some justice for Michelle but it seems like nobody gives a (expletive) about what happened to her.”