Man Allegedly Shot Wrong Woman To Death In Cabin While Trying To Murder His Ex-Girlfriend
Cameron Jay Moser allegedly shot horse expert Bethany Anne Bernatsky to death inside of a cabin after mistaking her for his former girlfriend.
A Minnesota man allegedly shot a woman to death at a camping resort last week after possibly mistaking her for his former girlfriend, authorities said.
Police were called from Cozy Bay Resort on Lake Edward in Nisswa on Thursday night after a witness heard several gunshots, a press release from the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office stated.
“Deputies and other officers responded and encountered an adult male armed with a rifle and a handgun,” the press release stated. “Deputies negotiated for nearly two hours and eventually convinced the suspect to put his weapons down in a safe location.”
That suspect was identified as 29-year-old Cameron Jay Moser of Brainerd.
After he was taken into custody, deputies searched the premises and found Bethany Anne Bernatsky, 46, dead inside a cabin. She was found with multiple gunshot wounds.
Bernatsky had just moved to Nisswa and bared a resemblance to Moser’s ex-girlfriend, who is the daughter of RV park owner Bret Jevning. His RV park is located directly across the street from the resort; Jevning told the Star-Tribune that Moser had come to the park a week before the shooting.
"He was angry because we weren't giving him access to my daughter,” he said.
Jevning theorized that Moser was “mistaking [Bernatsky] for my daughter" when she was shot to death.
And Jevning is certainly not alone with that theory. Crow Wing County Sheriff Scott Goddard told the Star-Tribune on Tuesday that they believe that Moser may have wanted to shoot Jevning’s daughter.
Ben Bernatsky, a sibling of the victim, told the outlet that the two women look similar in “body structure, height and hair color.”
"[Moser] killed the wrong person," Bernatsky said.
Bethany Bernatsky had just moved into the resort a few weeks prior to her death. She had spent more than a decade training and performing with horses and most recently ran a paving company in Vermont. The "horse savant," as her brother described her, had planned to spend the winter in the area.
Moser has been charged with second-degree intentional murder. It's not clear if he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf. He's being held on a $1 million bond.