Rochester woman receives stayed sentence for role in murder of man whose remains were found in tote

A 24-year-old woman has been sentenced for her role in the murder of an Isle, Minnesota, man whose partial remains were found in a tote in 2023, according to court records filed on Friday.

Alexis Elling, of Rochester, Minnesota, was given a 57-month sentence for aiding an offender, accomplice after the fact, which will be stayed for five years. According to the sentencing order, Elling will be on probation for those five years, and at least 2/3 of that sentence must be spent in prison. She pleaded guilty to the charge in February 2024.

On March 21, 2023, public works employees in Kathio Township, Minnesota, near Mille Lacs Lake, found a tote bound with bungee cords and industrial tape that had human remains inside. The remains were later identified as 25-year-old Rodney Pende