MINNEAPOLIS — A 38-year-old Minneapolis man, Byron Vinicio Varga Bautista, has been charged with second-degree murder after allegedly beating a 57-year-old woman to death outside a Minneapolis church. The tragic incident occurred in July near Oak Park Avenue North and Penn Avenue North. Police responded on July 14 and discovered the woman’s body with severe injuries to her face and upper body.
The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, revealing hemorrhaging around her brain, neck, and clavicle, along with a fractured hyoid bone. The victim, later identified as a resident of a local nursing facility, was last seen alive with Bautista on July 13.
Surveillance footage from nearby homes and transit cameras captured the two traveling together and later showed Bautista carrying the woman near the church. Bautista was arrested on September 19 and remains in custody. Although he identified himself in various images, Bautista claims he does not remember the events of July 13.