UPDATED: Burnsville Man Found Guilty of Murdering and Dismembering His Mother, Sentenced to Life in Prison
Provided by Dakota County Jail.
Updated: August 19, 2025, at 4:05 PM.
BURNSVILLE, MINNESOTA - Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena announced on Wednesday evening, August 13, 2025, that a Dakota County jury has found 58-year-old Troy Michael Mitteness of Burnsville guilty of premeditated first-degree murder and intentional second-degree murder for the 2022 killing of his 82-year-old mother, Sandra Viola Mitteness.
Following a seven-day trial, jurors deliberated for approximately nine hours before delivering the guilty verdict on both counts. The first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Mitteness was originally charged in 2022 with intentional second-degree murder. In December 2024, a Dakota County grand jury upgraded the charges to include premeditated first-degree murder.
Details of the Crime
According to the criminal complaint from the Dakota County Attorney’s office, Mitteness admitted to Burnsville Police Department detectives that in June 2022, he fatally stabbed his mother at their Burnsville home. He told investigators he had spent all of her money and believed she was becoming suspicious of him. Evidence also revealed that Mitteness had researched ways to kill an elderly person prior to the murder.
Days after her death, Mitteness dismembered Sandra’s body, placed the remains in plastic totes, and drove to Appleton, Minnesota. Along the route, he discarded her remains into roadside ditches and at other locations, including bins behind a dumpster at an abandoned rest stop. Investigators later recovered several remains.
Acknowledgements and Sentencing
Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena thanked the Burnsville Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for their “partnership and thorough investigation” of the case.
LATEST UPDATE - Keena announced on Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2025, that Mitteness was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by the Honorable Richelle M Wahi following the conviction last week of premeditated first-degree murder and intentional second-degree murder of his mother.
You can find our original story here: Burnsville man charged in the murder and dismemberment of his 82-year-old Mother
