Red Lake, Minnesota: Jennifer Stately Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Her Two Young Sons

Jennifer Marie Stately, 37, of Red Lake, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday, November 6, for murdering two of her young children at their home on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced. U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim imposed the sentence. A federal jury convicted Stately on February 25, 2026, after a trial of two and a half weeks, finding her guilty of five counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson.

What happened at the home

According to court documents and the evidence presented at trial, Stately was alone with the children at the home on March 15, 2024. Prosecutors said she assaulted the boys, causing numerous injuries, and attacked them with a knife. She fatally stabbed her older son, who was 6 years old. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined that she then used gasoline and lighter fluid to set three separate fires inside the home, including fires at both exit points. Her younger son, who was 5, was trapped inside and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Stately fled the home with her 3-year-old son, Minnesota News Network reported. The Red Lake Tribal Police Department issued an AMBER Alert, and less than an hour later a motorist spotted Stately in Todd County, about 150 miles south of the home. Officers from the Minnesota State Patrol, the Todd County Sheriff's Department and the Long Prairie Police Department took her into custody, and she was booked into the Todd County Jail.

Reaction from officials and Red Lake

"Jennifer Stately's murder of two of her children shocks the conscience. I offer my deepest condolences to the family and Red Lake community who lost two innocent lives," said United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.

"Today's sentence ensures Jennifer Stately is held accountable for the unimaginable violence she inflicted on two young children," said Christopher D. Dotson, the FBI special agent in charge in Minneapolis. "While no sentence can undo this loss, we hope it provides some measure of justice for the victims' loved ones and the Red Lake community."

Joseph Persails, the ATF special agent in charge of the St. Paul Field Division, said one of the boys might have survived his injuries if the fire had not followed. "One child may have survived the injuries inflicted upon him, but the fire his mother set ultimately sealed his fate," Persails said.

"Jennifer Stately committed the ultimate betrayal when she took her children's lives," said Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. "While today's sentence holds her accountable, no sentence can bring these children back or erase the pain and suffering left behind."

The Red Lake Department of Public Safety thanked the agencies that worked on the case, saying "miigwech," the Ojibwe word for thank you. "The memory of our two young community members will forever be in our thoughts and prayers of the Red Lake Nation," said Kendall Kingbird Sr., the department's director.

The investigation

The case was investigated by the FBI, with help from the ATF, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Todd County Sheriff's Department, the Long Prairie Police Department and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett S. Fields prosecuted the case.