In a chilling sequence of events that unfolded in the winter of 2019, Jason McDonough, a 41-year-old Caucasian male, was murdered in a premeditated act of violence. On January 28, 2019, McDonough was lured to a residence in Eckles Township, just outside of Bemidji, Minnesota, under the pretense of a robbery. He was accompanied by his friend, 39-year-old Adam Thorpe.
The invitation came from Darren Lloyd Stebe, a 47-year-old man who intended to rob McDonough.
Upon their arrival at Stebe's home, the situation quickly turned fatal. When McDonough refused to hand over his money, Stebe shot both him and Thorpe, intentionally killing them. In an effort to conceal the heinous crime, Stebe then moved their bodies to a fire pit in his backyard where he burned their remains. The investigation into the disappearance of McDonough and Thorpe began after a concerned family member of Thorpe's reported him missing on February 4, having last heard from him the previous week when he was traveling to the Bemidji area. This report led authorities to locate the vehicle the two men were using at the Palace Casino east of Bemidji.
The investigation quickly led law enforcement to Stebe's residence. On February 5, 2019, investigators from the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension executed a search warrant at the property and discovered the human remains in the fire pit. Stebe was arrested on the same day for a probation violation. He was later charged with two counts of second-degree murder, which were eventually elevated to first-degree murder charges by a grand jury in 2021.
Darren Lloyd Stebe ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Jason McDonough and Adam Thorpe. He was subsequently sentenced to two concurrent life sentences in prison. Two other individuals were also implicated in the crime. Stebe's girlfriend at the time, Kristi Trisco, and an associate, Daniel Linde, both pleaded guilty to charges for their involvement in the murders and the attempts to cover them up. Trisco admitted to assisting Stebe in spending approximately $5,000 that was stolen from the victims.
