Two indicted in Red Lake murder case

by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio

Red Lake Indian Reservation, Minn. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment against two people Tuesday for allegedly murdering a 21-year-old man on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Prosecutors charged Kelly James Maxwell, a 27-year-old Redby man, and Natalie Renee Delores Ann Smith, 22, of Redby, with one count of second-degree murder.

The indictment alleges that Maxwell and Smith killed Curtis Leslie Charles Heinonen on Oct. 1.

Heinonen was found naked under several logs in the yard of a Redby residence, according to an FBI affidavit. Officers discovered shoes, pants, and boxer shorts in Smith's yard two blocks away.

If convicted Maxwell and Smith face a potential maximum sentence of life in prison.