A Hopkins man accused of killing his girlfriend this summer, just days after he was released from jail for attacking her, appeared briefly in court Monday with dozens of the victim’s family members and friends in attendance.
Wearing purple and holding signs in honor of Danicka Marie Bergeson, a 33-year-old veterinarian and Army medic found dead in July, they gathered to see Matthew Brenneman, 39, sentenced on two domestic assault convictions involving Bergeson. Those cases were filed before he was charged with her murder.
Only minutes before the Hennepin County District Court hearing, however, the family was told that Brenneman’s sentencing was being delayed. Prosecutors said the sentencing wouldn’t take place until the homicide case concluded.
Brenneman remains jailed on $1.5 million bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 18.
“We want to make sure that justice is served and that her case doesn’t go unnoticed by the courts,” said Ariana Bergeson, Danicka’s sister.
David Bergeson, Danicka’s father, said the family was concerned that Brenneman would be offered a last-minute plea bargain, given recent Hennepin County cases that have resulted in lenient plea negotiations. But he said the family gained clarity from prosecutors Erin Lutz and Thomas Manewitz about what to expect moving forward.
“We feel confident there will be a grand jury indictment for first-degree murder,” he said.
David Bergeson said he shares concerns in the community that violent offenders are not being held accountable by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Brenneman appeared in court briefly in August for a scheduled sentencing on the two domestic assault cases. His plea was accepted for a jail term of up to 90 days, according to court records. District Judge Daniel Moreno entered convictions on the assault cases but decided to delay sentencing until Monday.
“With no criminal history prior to that, probation was the presumptive outcome based on the sentencing guidelines,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told the Star Tribune in August.
Danicka’s mother, Leticia Guadarrama, attended a rally last week outside the Hennepin County Government Center to protest Moriarty’s offering of plea deals over the objections of crime victims’ families.
“I do believe this system wasn’t working for my daughter,” she said. “They let [Brenneman] go … even though he wanted to kill her. She had a really good heart, always wanted to help, and that made her vulnerable for predators like this monster.”
David Bergeson said Brenneman was incarcerated for domestic violence twice and let out “with really no accountability. … The county let this guy out of jail and he went right back to what he was doing.”
According to court documents, Brenneman was released from jail on June 27 after pleading guilty to attacking Bergeson in their home — punching and biting her, and threatening to kill her. Photos showed Bergeson with “bruises all over” her body.
Two weeks later he was arrested for her murder, after police found him in their Hopkins apartment where Bergeson’s body was wrapped in blankets.