Charges: Missing Moorhead teen killed and dismembered, suspect in custody

A western Minnesota man is facing murder charges after he admitted to authorities he killed and dismembered a 19-year-old woman. 

Court records show Ethan Martin Broad, 27, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to the death of Dystynee Avery. If convicted, Broad faces up to 40 years in prison. 

The criminal complaint states Avery had been missing since April 3, but was last known to be temporarily staying with Broad. The Moorhead Police Department started investigating after multiple tips came in regarding her whereabouts. 

Officers talked with Broad who stated he had not seen Avery since April 4. Broad said she had been staying with him, but said Avery had taken her belongings from his apartment and left. Later, officers conducted a follow-up interview with Broad at the Moorhead Police Department. Court documents say there, Broad told officers that Avery was dead. 

According to the criminal complaint, Broad admitted he dismembered the woman's body in his garage and then threw her body in the apartment dumpsters. He originally stated that another individual was responsible for killing Avery, who hit her over the head with a lead pipe and then cut her throat with a knife in his apartment bathroom. 

Broad went on to say that he and a few other individuals, who have not been named, then moved Avery's body to the garage where they planned to cut her body up and dispose of it. 

Court documents say surveillance video shows Broad dragging a blue tote from the apartment building to the garage, however no other individuals were seen on surveillance video helping Broad. He later admitted he was responsible for both killing and dismembering Avery, but claimed it was done in self-defense. 

Two additional witnesses were interviewed and both told officers that Broad had admitted he was responsible for killing and dismembering Avery. 

Officers later conducted a search warrant at Broad's apartment and garage where court documents say they found a saw that Broad claimed he used on Avery. Blood and human tissue appeared to be on the saw, according to investigators. Police also located sevaral blue bins with blood on them in the garage according to documents. Inside the apartment, several spots were located that appeared to be cleaned-up blood. Documents say Broad told police he had cleaned up the blood spots with bleach.