Brooklyn Center, MN: Ex-Girlfriend Charged with Murder of Brooklyn Center Man

Brooklyn Center Police say a woman hacked into her ex-boyfriend's Facebook account, sent defamatory emails to his family, and stole his identity to apply for credit cards. Now, she's accused of killing him.

41-year-old Bret Struck died of multiple gunshot wounds. A co-worker, worried after he didn't show up for work, discovered Struck's body inside his home February 13th. According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County Court Wednesday, the friend noticed the side door to the home was unlocked. Police said they found "several silver and brass colored bullet shell casings from a 9 mm handgun" in the home.

The complaint says that after talking with Struck's family, friends, and co-workers, they began to suspect Struck's ex-girlfriend, 39-year-old Rochelle Lynn Inselman. They were told she "had a history of exhibiting threatening and harassing behavior" toward Struck, and "appeared obsessed with the victim ever since their relationship ended in 2004."

Brooklyn Center detectives went to Inselman's home in Stearns County. The complaint says she told the detectives she hadn't been in the Twin Cities since November, adding that she was using the computer in her home at the time of the murder.

"However, the investigation revealed the Defendant was in the area of the victim's home four times in the week preceding the murder," said police in the complaint. "Additionally, a forensic exam of the Defendant's computer showed an absence of activity over a four hour time period that included when the victim was killed."

A Minnesota State Patrol Trooper discovered a box for a 9 mm gun from a public trash receptacle near Clearwater. An original manufacturer's test-fired casing was found inside. (Some gun manufacturers test fire weapons before shipping them. The fired bullet's casing is sometimes included in the box.) The complaint says a forensic exam determined the casing found in the box matched casings found in Struck's home.

Last week, investigators tracked down the person who sold the gun that had been shipped in the box found by the trooper. The complaint said the seller told detectives he sold the gun, along with silver and brass colored ammunition, "to a woman named 'Rochelle' from St. Cloud on January 28, 2012." It says the seller picked Inselman's photo out of a line-up, identifying her as the buyer.

Inselman has been charged with one count of Murder in the Second Degree.