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   Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk reports that at 9:34 p.m. on August 19th, 2023, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center received a 911 call reporting a twenty-three-month-old child was reportedly run over by a vehicle in the Prescott Housing Area in Wilkinson Township, rural Cass Lake, MN. 

   Officers responded to the residence and performed lifesaving measures on the child, who was later flown to the Sanford Hospital in Fargo, ND. Subsequent investigation led officers and investigators to believe the injuries sustained were the direct result of blunt force trauma through suspected child abuse and not from an automobile accident as initially reported. 

   The child’s mother, Larena Jackson, age 30, of Cass Lake, MN, was taken into custody on August 22nd, 2023, where she was booked into the Cass County Detention Center and charged with Attempted Second Degree Murder, First Degree Assault, and Malicious Punishment of a Child.

   On August 24th, 2023, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office was notified that the child died as a result of the injuries sustained. On August 25th, 2023, Cass County Attorney Ben Lindstrom amended the criminal complaint to 2nd Degree Murder, First Degree Assault, Malicious Punishment of a Child, and Fleeing a Peace Officer.  

   The Cass County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Leech Lake Tribal Police, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, North Memorial Ambulance, and the Cass County Attorney’s Office for their assistance with this ongoing investigation.

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