Morningstar Jewett (Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office)
A 29-year-old man in South Dakota has been arrested after he allegedly admitted to killing a 63-year-old man, beating him to death inside of his home and stuffing the victim’s body into a large garment bag. Morningstar Jewett on Wednesday was charged with two counts of aggravated assault in an attempt to cause serious bodily injury in the death of Nigussie Bulti, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
A criminal complaint alleges that Jewett “did attempt to cause serious injury to Nigussie Bulti” under “circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
Officers with the Sioux Falls Police Department on the morning of Wednesday, July 5 responded to a call requesting a welfare check at a home located in the area of East 3rd Street and North Cliff Avenue, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. The caller was reportedly Bulti’s caseworker with the Southeastern Behavioral Health clinic, which is a nonprofit mental health agency.
The caseworker reportedly went to Bulti’s home after he failed to show up for a scheduled appointment. The caseworker told the emergency dispatcher that when they opened the door to Bulti’s home they discovered that he was dead and it appeared as though someone had tried to stuff his remains into a large black garment bag, though part of the body could reportedly be seen sticking out the bag. The carpet underneath the garment bag had also been soaked in blood which appeared to have already dried.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located the body and pronounced Bulti dead on the scene. The officers and medical personnel noted that the victim’s body appeared to have been in the home for some time, saying that the smell of decomposition emanated throughout the apartment and the rest of the building and the body was already covered in maggots, per the Argus Leader.
An autopsy conducted by the Minnehaha County Coroner’s Office concluded that the victim’s manner of death was a homicide, Dakota News Now reported.
Investigators reportedly found a shoe print inside the home that did not match any of the victim’s shoes and appeared to contain blood that did not belong to the victim. A neighbor reportedly told police that she had seen an individual named “Morningstar” near the apartment complex earlier that week.
When police decided to locate Jewett, they learned that he was already in jail on charges unrelated to Bulti’s death. A search of the belongings in his possession at the time of his arrest showed a pair of bloody jeans and shoes with a pattern resembling the print found in Bulti’s home, the Mitchell Republic reported. He was reportedly arrested on July 4 for spitting on and threatening the life of a police officer.
In an interview with police, investigators claimed that Jewett admitted to slaying Bulti.
“You got me,” Jewett reportedly said, per the affidavit. “I did it.”
In explaining what took place, Jewett allegedly said that he went after Bulti after the victim had struck “his girl” six days prior to the body being discovered, reports said. Jewett allegedly said that as the fight escalated, he “stomped” Bulti’s head several times and kicked the victim in the jaw at least once, but was not sure if he actually killed the other man.
“I grabbed a piece of wood, and I smacked him in the back of the head with the wood,” Jewett allegedly told detectives. “He hit the ground. I assaulted him again.”
Jewett reportedly said that some people later returned to the apartment and tried to clean up, but he refused to identify them.
Authorities have reportedly said that Jewett may face additional charges pending the results of the ongoing investigation.
Jewett is being held at the Minnehaha County Jail on $50,000 bond. It is unclear if he has retained an attorney.
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