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Man Arrested In South Minneapolis Woman's 1991 Murder

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 56-year-old South St. Paul man has been arrested in the death of a 20-year-old woman that happened one day shy of 27 years ago.

The body of Belinda Thompson, of Minneapolis, was found in her South Minneapolis apartment Dec. 19, 1991, and her death remained unsolved ever since. Her body had a number of injuries to it, Minneapolis Police reported.

On Tuesday, the Minneapolis Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said they had taken Donald C. Jenkins Jr. into custody, and that he was allegedly a friend of Thompson's boyfriend at the time of the murder.

Donald Jenkins Jr.
Donald Jenkins Jr. (credit: Hennepin County)

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reported there is forensic evidence from the scene tying Jenkins to Thompson's death.

"We owed it to Belinda and her family to never give up on finding her killer, and while nothing will ever bring her back, we hope it will bring some comfort to those who loved her that we, working with our law enforcement partners, are in a position to hold her alleged killer responsible," Jill Sanborn, a special agent with the FBI's Minneapolis division, said.

Jenkins is currently being held at Hennepin County Jail on probable cause of murder.

"Today's arrest demonstrates that we will never give up on these cases. For our cold case unit, our memories are long and our commitment runs deep and we are pleased with today's development in Ms. Thompson's case," Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said.

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