Jury deliberations begin in trial of Rochester man charged in 2019 murder

Emily Cutts, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·1 min read

Dec. 7—The case of a Rochester man charged in the 2019 murder of a 28-year-old is now in the hands of an Olmsted County District Court jury.

Muhidin Abukar, 32, is charged in Olmsted County District Court with aiding and abetting second-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Garad Hassan Roble.

Roble was found dead by a passing motorist about 3:45 a.m. March 5, 2019, on 45th Street Southeast, between St. Bridget Road Southeast (County Road 20) and Simpson Road (County Road 1). Roble had been shot 11 times — including four times in the head and three times in each arm. No exact time of death was determined.

TRIAL COVERAGE:

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FBI special agent, Garad Roble's mother testify in Abukar murder trial

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Witness testifies Rochester man had asked if he would be killed just hours before his body was found

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Medical examiner testifies during third day of trial for Rochester man charged with murder

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Witnesses take stand in Rochester murder trial

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Opening statements begin for Rochester man charged in March 2019 murder

Deliberations began just before 11 a.m. Tuesday following closing statements from Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem and defense attorney Paul Applebaum.

Jury selection began Nov. 29 when 15 people — four men and 11 women — were seated as jurors to hear the case. Twelve are deliberating — four men and eight women.

During the trial, jurors heard from nearly two dozen witnesses, including the former assistant chief medical examiner at the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Office at Mayo Clinic, forensic scientists and special agents with the BCA as well as members of the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office.