By: News Director Larissa Donovan
BEMIDJI– The state intends to seek aggravated sentencing against a man accused of committing a double homicide.
According to court documents, 45-year-old Darren Stebe of Bemidji made his first appearance in court last Friday, and the prosecutors presented their reasons to seek an upward durational departure, or more severe sentencing than the state’s guidelines.
Stebe is accused of slaying 39-year-old Adam Thorpe of Maple Grove and 41-year-old Jason McDonough of Superior, and also of dismembering and burning their bodies in a fire pit.
That, and Stebe’s violent criminal history, is why the state is seeking aggravated sentencing.
The alleged homicides took place at a residence off of Highway 89 around the end of January, and Stebe had been in custody since February.
