FARGO, ND (trfnews.i234.me) – A Fargo man who called the police to confess to the murder of his girlfriend made his first court appearance in Cass County Court on Tuesday, June 11.
Randall Dale Duffy, 61, appeared via videoconference from the Cass County Jail. Although he represented himself during the proceeding, District Court Judge Nicholas Chase approved him for a public defender.
Assistant Cass County State’s Attorney Ryan Younggren detailed the charges against Duffy in the death of 59-year-old Jody Campbell. Younggren stated that Duffy “intentionally or knowingly, or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, caused the death of Jody Campbell.” If convicted of the Class AA felony murder charge, Duffy faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. He also faces a Class C felony charge of domestic violence, carrying a maximum punishment of five years in prison.
Judge Chase set Duffy’s bail at $1 million cash.
According to charging documents, Duffy called 911 at 11:48 a.m. on Saturday, instructing dispatch operators to “send someone.” When officers arrived at his building in the 3100 block of 33rd Street South, Duffy met them in the hallway and admitted to killing his girlfriend. Officers found Campbell’s body in a closet, where Duffy had directed them. The police report noted that she was “obviously deceased.”
Duffy later told investigators he had put Campbell in a headlock during an argument over meth and a missing meth pipe, stating, “I choked her out too long.”
The domestic violence charge stemmed from the strangling incident.
In December 2020, a similar attack by Duffy on Campbell led to charges being reduced to disorderly conduct. Previous reports showed a history of loud verbal altercations and physical abuse by Duffy against Campbell.
Campbell, a longtime server at Blackbird Woodfire Pizza in downtown Fargo, was remembered by the eatery as “the face and the heart of the restaurant.”
A GoFundMe campaign established in her honor had raised over $10,000 by Tuesday morning, supporting funeral expenses and domestic violence crisis centers.
Duffy’s next court hearing is set for July 18.