A young man, aged 18, has been accused of a heinous crime – the murder of a 14-year-old girl named Jaelyn Walker in Moorhead. According to criminal charges, it is alleged that he committed the gruesome act by repeatedly stabbing the girl and then cutting her throat.
Isaac Arndt, 18, from Fargo, has been officially charged with the murder of Walker. Her body was discovered in the Red River at Gooseberry Park in Moorhead on Tuesday morning, following her reported disappearance the previous night.
In the criminal complaint against Arndt, it is revealed that the 14-year-old was found with multiple stab wounds. During the police interview, Arndt confessed that she was no longer alive when he departed from the scene.
He proceeded to inform investigators that after stabbing the victim multiple times, he observed her in a state of suffering. Following this, he proceeded to slit her throat, embraced her, and delivered one final stab to her back.
Arndt proceeded to move Walker’s body to the river and abandoned her there before making a hasty exit from the area.
During the interview, Arndt acknowledged that he had been involved in a romantic relationship with Walker for a few months, but it had recently come to an end. After making plans to meet on Monday evening, he mentioned that Walker had been curious about his new girlfriend’s identity, but he chose not to disclose it.
According to his account, she allegedly began physically assaulting him, prompting him to defend himself by brandishing a knife. In the ensuing struggle, he inadvertently injured his own hand while attempting to fend off Walker.
Arndt initially reported the assault to the Clay County Law Enforcement Center at around 11 p.m. He informed the police that he had sustained injuries to his hand after being attacked by an unidentified male who had been allegedly following them while they were on an electric scooter.
At 12:35 a.m. on Tuesday, Walker’s mother took the initiative to file a missing person report with Moorhead PD. She informed the police that she had tracked her daughter’s location using SnapChat, which led her to a bicycle trail on Elm Street and 6th Avenue South.
Authorities conducted a thorough search of the vicinity and discovered the lifeless body of Walker in the Red River, accompanied by the discovery of a knife at the location.
Arndt was discovered by officers at a hospital in Fargo, and initially remained consistent with the story he had shared about an unidentified male assaulting him. He then went on to share several different accounts of what occurred between him and [Walker] in the wooded area by the river. Eventually, he acknowledged their previous relationship.
Following the incident, Arndt quickly left the scene on an electric scooter and made his way to his Fargo apartment, where he took care of his soiled clothing. During their search, officers discovered socks and a towel with noticeable red stains concealed in a kitchen cupboard at the apartment.
A security video captured Arndt leaving the vicinity where Walker’s body was discovered, casually hopping onto an electric scooter, and seemingly disposing of objects as he went. Walker’s phone was discovered among the items that Arndt was disposing of in the area.
Walker’s phone revealed conversations between her and Arndt, where they made plans to meet at Gooseberry Park around 7:30 p.m.
