18-year-old indicted on 1st-degree murder charge for December killing of ex-girlfriend

An 18-year-old has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge for the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Jayden Lee Kline.

Fenan Abdurezak Uso was previously charged with second-degree murder as a juvenile. He made his first appearance Thursday morning for the first-degree charge, where a judge ordered bail to be set at $2 million.

The juvenile petition states Kline was found lying in the street and bleeding from the head after neighbors had heard a loud noise around 4 p.m. on Dec. 21. It was originally believed that Kline had been hit by a vehicle; however, surveillance footage showed she fell out of a gold van after the driver fired a gunshot at her.

Kline’s mother and brother recognized the van as Uso’s. Police later confirmed the van used in the shooting was registered to Uso’s mother.

Uso was later arrested as a gas station in Burnsville and a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol was found in the van, court officials said.

In a post-Miranda statement, Uso told investigators he had picked up Kline to go shopping at Rosedale Center. They got into an argument while leaving the mall, so Uso drove back to Kline’s house. He admitted to shooting Kline once and said he “drove off fast because he realized he did something dumb,” the petition states.

Kline graduated from Columbia Heights High School and was on her school’s synchronized swimming team. Zena Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights Schools, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that Kline was considering a career in nursing.

Uso’s next court date is scheduled for the afternoon of Oct. 9.