Man charged in murder of woman whose body was found outside church

A Minneapolis man has been charged with killing a 57-year-old woman.

Byron Vinicio Vargas Bautista, 38, faces one count of second-degree murder.

According to a criminal complaint, Minneapolis police responded to a church near the intersection of Oak Park Avenue North and Penn Avenue North on July 14. There, they found the body of a woman who was partially unclothed and had signs of injury to her face and upper body.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Felisha Renee Smith of Minneapolis.

Smith’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma and her death was ruled a homicide. The woman had hemorrhaging around her brain, neck and clavicle, and her hyoid bone was fractured, court documents state.

Investigators learned that Smith was last seen at a skilled nursing facility the previous day.

Witnesses told police that Smith had been seen walking with a man, later identified as Bautista, on the evening of July 13. Surveillance video showed her with Bautista near Chicago and Lake streets. Surveillance video showed them getting off a Metro Transit bus near the intersection of Penn Avenue North and Oliver Avenue North.

Court documents state that they were seen walking toward the church, near where Smith’s body was found. Surveillance video showed what appeared to be Bautista carrying Smith part of the way. The footage then showed him going back and forth from the crime scene alone before leaving.

On Sept. 19, investigators were driving when they saw a man they identified as Bautista. Court documents state that Bautista identified himself in the surveillance video but claimed he didn’t remember the events from July 13.