Crime & Safety

(UPDATED) College Student From Golden Valley Arrested in Connection With Death in Mankato

A woman was found stabbed in the median of a Mankato street.

A Golden Valley man arrested in connection with the Friday death of a Mankato woman was a hopeful college student with dreams of his own before Friday's incident.

Damone Christopher Williams-Tillman, 19, is being held in the Blue Earth County Jail after questioning by police, according to a Mankato Police news release.

Williams-Tillman's father, reached Sunday morning at his Golden Valley home, declined to speak about his son except to acknowledge that Chris Tillman, as the young man was known to most, entered Minnesota State University-Mankato with promise. 

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"That's all true," Damone Tillman, the father, said of his son's positive outlook. "I would love to tell you more about him, but I can't until I've spoken with my attorney." 

Williams-Tillman was booked into the jail at about 8 a.m. Saturday, according to the jail roster.

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On Friday at about 2:30 p.m. Friday, a truck driver called 911, according to the Mankato Free Press. He said a woman was lying near the intersection of North Victory and Sohler drives and she didn't appear to be breathing.

When Mankato Department of Public Safety, Minnesota State Patrol and Gold Cross Ambulance arrived at the intersection, they determined she had been stabbed multiple times. They couldn't revive her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. 

On Friday night, police asked for the public's help in identifying the woman.

"Police later received a call from a woman who was concerned about her roommate after she had not gone to work and was not heard from," according to Mankato Police.

The Mankato Free Press reported Saturday that she is Josselyn Marie Bishop, a 19-year-old Minnesota State University-Mankato student. Once detectives determined the dead woman was Bishop, they contacted Williams-Tillman, according to the Mankato Police news release. Golden Valley officers helped Mankato authorities find Williams-Tillman in Golden Valley.

He agreed to an interview with investigators, according to Mankato Police. "After the interview, (Williams-Tillman) was arrested and transported back to Mankato," the press release said.

Golden Valley Patch can't confirm whether charges have yet been filed against Williams-Tillman. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy on Bishop.

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call 911 or Blue Earth County Sheriffs dispatch at (507) 387-8725.

Golden Valley Patch will continue to follow this story.


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