The Murder of Morna Jean Brennen: A Night Out Turned Deadly in Midwest Murder
The bar was packed that night, with several men buying drinks and chatting with Morna and her friend. At around 12:30 a.m., they decided to leave. As her friend ducked back inside for a moment, Morna waited outside in the frigid temperatures. When she returned, Morna was gone. Concern grew when she failed to contact her family the next day, leading them to report her missing. Later that day, a jogger discovered her purse on a wooded trail, intensifying the search.
Investigators soon uncovered disturbing clues. Near where her purse was found, police discovered garbage bags filled with bloodstained bedding. Though forensic technology in 1986 couldn’t match the blood to a person, detectives feared the worst. Three men who had interacted with Morna at the bar became persons of interest, but one in particular stood out: a blond man who persistently pursued Morna despite her clear rejection.
Two weeks later, the case took a gruesome turn when a trapper found a bag of body parts on a frozen lake. Soon, another bag containing Morna’s torso was found in the woods. Her throat had been slashed, and the precise cuts on her dismembered body suggested her killer had experience with knives.
The break investigators needed came when a bartender recalled that the blond man’s name might be "Randy," and that he worked at a local marble company. Police soon identified him as Ricky Kiger, a man with a dark past, including a previous charge of rape. Kiger’s girlfriend provided key evidence, revealing that he had gifted her a necklace identical to one Morna had been wearing.
Detectives arrested Kiger on December 2, uncovering blood evidence in his bathroom and vehicle. They pieced together the horrifying truth—Kiger had likely lured Morna into his truck, brutally attacked her, and killed her in his bathtub before dismembering her body.
Kiger pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Investigators described him as "pure evil," bringing justice to Morna’s grieving family and finally closing one of Minnesota’s most haunting murder cases.
