Dakota County (trfnews.i234.me) – A Burnsville man has been found guilty of murdering his mother in 2022 after she began questioning her finances.
A Dakota County jury on Wednesday convicted Troy Michael Mitteness, 58, of first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder in the death of 82-year-old Sandra Viola Mitteness at their shared home on Riverwood Drive.
According to court records, the case began in June 2023 during a Burnsville police investigation into Mitteness for mail theft. Investigators discovered stolen proceeds deposited into Sandra Mitteness’ account. When questioned about her whereabouts, Mitteness first claimed she was in South Dakota, then later said she had died on June 14, 2022.
Family members told police they had not seen Sandra in months. A funeral home listed on an obituary found in the home said they had never handled her remains. Relatives also recalled Mitteness saying Sandra had fallen down the stairs, was in the hospital, and later claimed she had COVID-19.
In July 2023, police searched the home and found blood on the stairs and a heavily stained mattress. Mitteness later admitted he killed his mother on June 2, 2022, because he had spent her money and she was becoming suspicious.
According to his confession, he researched ways to kill an elderly person without poison, decided to stab her while she slept, and searched for methods to make the death “quick and painless.” He said he stabbed her in the neck with a kitchen knife, left her body for days, then dismembered her and placed the remains in plastic bins. He admitted discarding body parts along the route to Appleton and leaving two bins at an abandoned rest stop.
Mitteness will be sentenced on August 27 and faces a mandatory life sentence without release under Minnesota law for first-degree murder.
For more information on Minnesota’s homicide statutes, visit the Minnesota Legislature.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News.
