Man sentenced to life without parole for 2023 stabbing death of vulnerable Waite Park woman

ST. CLOUD — A Stearns County judge Friday sentenced a 30-year-old man to life in prison for killing a Waite Park woman in her apartment two years ago.

Jarquez J. Bedford was charged in the death of 52-year-old Andrea Cottew, who was found in February 2023 during a welfare check in the 300 block of Park Meadows Drive in Waite Park.

In May 2023, Bedford was indicted on two additional first-degree charges: one count of premeditated murder and one count of intentional murder during an aggravated robbery, both felonies. In Minnesota, a grand jury indictment is required for crimes carrying a life sentence.

In January, Stearns County Judge Andrew Pearson found Bedford guilty on all three counts. On Friday, Pearson ordered him to report to prison, where he will remain without the possibility of parole.

The Stearns County Attorney’s Office said Bedford met the criteria for an aggravated sentence because he was found to be a dangerous offender.

Bedford’s attorney, Ken Wilson, said his thoughts go out to Cottew’s family.

“This case highlights why we need to address mental illness in the justice system to avoid tragedies like this in the future,” Wilson said.

Bedford was found competent to stand trial, but he testified he hears voices.

Bedford has previous convictions for violent crimes in Minnesota and Kansas, including two robberies, as well as convictions for burglary and fleeing police.

An order from Pearson regarding the aggravated sentencing states Cottew had epilepsy and accompanying mobility issues, meaning she was particularly vulnerable.

According to the criminal complaint against Bedford, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office determined Cottew suffered three to four knife wounds across her neck and her death was a homicide.

Waite Park police found no signs of forced entry into her apartment, but her phone, wallet, apartment keys and key fob were missing.

Surveillance footage shows Cottew entering her apartment building just past noon on Feb. 5, 2023, when Bedford knocked on the building’s locked entry door. The two talked briefly and then walked together down the hallway, documents state.

“Within an hour, the defendant was observed on video exiting the back door of the apartment building,” documents state. “The defendant’s sweatshirt had been turned inside out.”

Tenants on the third floor of the apartment building told police Bedford was staying with them.

State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension lab tests found Bedford’s DNA on a knife with Cottew’s blood, as well as on her purse and a knotted-up sweatshirt in her bedroom, documents state.

Bedford testified at his trial that he and Cottew had a disagreement and he grabbed a knife, put it to her throat and pushed her. He said her death was accidental and he didn’t intend to kill her.