Two women, Megan Cater and Briana Martinson, previously convicted in connection with the killing of Corey Elder in 2017, were released from prison last week following a reduction in their sentences prompted by a change in Minnesota state law.
Cater and Martinson were initially charged in the slaying of Corey Elder, 19, during an attempted robbery for drugs in Bloomington. The incident occurred on April 27, 2017, when the pair, along with two others, entered Elder’s apartment. While Cater and Martinson ransacked the residence, the other suspects assaulted Elder before fatally shooting him.
Initially sentenced to 13.5 years in prison after accepting plea deals to avoid life sentences, Cater and Martinson found their sentences revisited following a redefinition of laws concerning aiding and abetting murder by state lawmakers. Under the amended law, only those directly involved in the murder or directly aiding it can be charged with the crime. This retroactively affected individuals already serving sentences.