Bemidji Man Sentenced In Connection With Rose Downwind Murder

Updated: December 20th at 5:23 PM

A Bemidji man who was convicted of aiding an offender in the murder of Rose Downwind was sentenced in Beltrami County Court on Tuesday. Brandon Rossbach, 32 was sentenced to 16 years and nine months in prison.

According to court documents, Rossbach will receive credit for the 378 days he has spent in custody. He will be moved to the Minnesota Department of Corrections St. Cloud facility for his sentence.

He was convicted in October 2016 of helping to burn and bury the body of Rose Downwind, who was last seen in Bemidji, on October 21, 2015. Her body was found in December 2015, concealed in a shallow grave. She was 31 years old.

Marchello Cimmarusti, Downwind’s former boyfriend, plead guilty to second-degree intentional murder in April. Christopher Davis, 28 of St. Paul, told Beltrami County Court that he also helped transport her body, dug a hole, burned and buried the body, and sent a text message to her mother to make it seem that she was alive.

Rossbach has received a longer sentence than Davis due to his previous criminal history and an aggravating factor. The aggravating factor was that the Downwind family suffered emotional distress by not knowing if she was alive, according to the Pioneer.

His criminal history started in 2005 with a domestic assault conviction in Beltrami County. Rossbach has since been convicted of making terroristic threats, 5^th degree assault to inflict or attempt bodily harm, fleeing peace officers, DWI, 4^th degree intentional damage to property, 3^rd degree assault for substantial bodily harm among other charges.