MINNEAPOLIS — Matthew Brenneman, 40, is headed to prison to begin serving a 285 month term handed down by Judge Daniel Moreno on Friday morning for the death of Danicka Bergeson in a domestic violence murder.
Brenneman, who had been indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while under a restraining order in a plea agreement last month. The prosecution's case was complicated because the medical examiner failed to determine the cause of death.
“All of our thoughts are with Danicka’s family today,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a written statement. “We will continue prosecuting those who commit intimate partner violence, knowing that while seeking justice is essential, nothing can return what is taken from devastated families.”
Brenneman admitted to a pair of aggravating factors: committing the act in the privacy of a victim's own bedroom and treating her with particular cruelty by allowing her body to decompose following death. He claimed Danicka died while he restrained her to the bed, her body weakened because of alcohol withdrawals.
Danicka's family does not believe Brenneman's account.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors and Brenneman's defense team agreed to a sentence of 23.75 years (285 months) for killing Bergeson.
Brenneman previously admitted to abusing the 33-year-old Danicka, even pleading guilty to two cases of domestic assault back in June 2023. Following that plea, Brenneman was released from jail pending an Aug. 2023 sentencing and ordered to stay away from Bergeson.
Prosecutors say he killed her 11 days later.
The courtroom was filled with family and friends of Danicka, wearing purple in solidarity and to help raise awareness of domestic abuse. Her father David Bergeson said after the hearing that the family is working with legislators on potential ways to strengthen laws to keep abusers away from their victims.