Moorhead man charged with murder after police find his half-brother dead inside apartment

UPDATE: The man found dead inside a Moorhead apartment Thursday night has been identified as the suspect’s half-brother.

Dustin Momerak, 29, was identified Monday by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office. His cause of death has been listed as “multiple sharp and blunt force injuries.”

Momerak and Swenson were living together at the time of the incident, according to authorities.

Investigators added that “an item believed to be used in the homicide” was found at the crime scene.

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Moorhead police officers arrested a man late Thursday night after finding blood on his hands and a dead body inside his apartment.

A criminal complaint filed in Clay County District Court names 25-year-old Douglas James Swenson II as a suspect charged with second-degree murder.

The complaint states that Moorhead police officers responded to an apartment in the 3300 block of 12th Street South at around 11:30 p.m. on March 9 after a 911 caller said they heard men yelling with one saying, “you deserve to die.”

An officer reported hearing a thud coming from the apartment and then music. Two officers then knocked on the door and Swenson “opened the door slightly,” according to the complaint.

Police then asked to enter so they could check on the other occupants, and Swenson said that his brother was inside sleeping. The officers then noticed that Swenson had blood on his hands and eyebrows.

When officers asked to enter again, Swenson then became angry and began banging his head against the door jam while yelling expletives, according to court documents. He then opened the door for officers, who observed that Swenson “was not wearing any clothes and had blood all over his hands and feet.”

The complaint states that Swenson said, “Go ahead, come on, come on, I killed him, go ahead, go ahead, he’s dead, go ahead, go ahead.” Police then ordered him to the ground and deployed a stun gun when he reportedly refused commands. While on the ground, Swenson continued make comments such as, “He’s dead, he’s dead, don’t worry” and “You’re not going to be able to save him.”

A dead man was then found in the living room laying face down. The complaint states that he had “significant blunt force trauma to his head and sharp force injuries to his neck.” No one else was found in the apartment.

Swenson was booked into Clay County jail and refused to speak with detectives.

Detectives say they reviewed surveillance footage from a store earlier that night that showed both Swenson and the victim together inside the store just after 6 p.m. The victim was wearing the same clothes he was wearing when officers found his body in the apartment, according to the complaint. The pants Swenson was wearing in the surveillance footage were found under the victim’s body and were covered in blood.

An autopsy reported that the victim suffered multiple sharp force and blunt injuries to the head and neck as well as multiple contusions on his body. The victim also suffered several broken bones in his face, a skull fractur and broken ribs. The victim’s death was ruled a homicide.

Swenson’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 6.

If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.

Editor’s Note: This article previously stated Douglas Swenson was 26-years-old. It has since been corrected to state he is 25-years-old.