Woman Faces Homicide Charge
Brianna Jensen-Rowe is facing the charge of deliberate homicide along with three other charges in district court. The 18-year-old woman is accused of killing her sister, Jalinn Marie Jensen-Rowe, on Aug. 3 in Wolf Point.
According to court reports including an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice officer was dispatched at approximately 8:18 p.m. on Aug. 3 for a reported stabbing. The officer observed the victim on the ground gasping for air. The victim’s mother advised the officer that the defendant left the scene in the direction of Granville Street.
When the officer attempted to speak with the victim, she said the defendant stabbed her. The victim then began fading in and out of consciousness. The victim was later pronounced dead at the hospital in Wolf Point.
When officers went to a residence on Granville Street, a young woman answered and reported that the defendant was attempting to leave through the back door. The defendant was then confronted and detained until she was positively identified. An officer obtained consent to search the residence, but the knife from the stabbing wasn’t located.
Witnesses reported that the defendant had threaten to stab the victim on earlier occasions.
At approximately 10:20 p.m. that night, an officer located the suspected knife used by the defendant near the intersection of Fifth Avenue South and Edgar Street.
On Aug 5, the Fort Peck Tribes charged the defendant with murder. At that time, law enforcement believed that the Fort Peck Tribal Court and/or the U.S. District Court would have jurisdiction over the case. On Aug. 7, the defendant moved to dismiss the charges arguing that the Fort Peck Tribal Court did not have jurisdiction because she is not a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe. On Aug. 19, the Fort Peck Tribal Prosecutor and the defendant filed a joint motion to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction.
On Aug. 19, the State of Montana charged the defendant with four counts: deliberate homicide, tampering with physical evidence, criminal possession of drug paraphernalia and obstructing a peace officer.
Bail was set at $250,000.
