The Stage Is Now Set For Trial in Rochester Christmas Murder Case

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Not guilty pleas were entered today by a convicted murderer accused of fatally shooting a Rochester woman on Christmas Day last year.

The case of 40-year-old Mustafa Bush was the subject of a court hearing this morning as Olmsted County Court officials, prosecutors, and the defense prepare for his trial on two counts of second-degree murder and a first-degree drug possession charge next year. The date for the trial has not been set, but it is expected to take place in the summer.

Bush is accused of shooting and killing 41-year-old Kimberly Robinson and then dumping her body in the ditch along a rural northwest Rochester road the day after Christmas. According to the criminal complaint, investigators learned that the victim had been living with Bush at a residence in southeast Rochester for about two years. She was last seen alive in the company of Bush on Christmas Eve and into the early morning hours of Christmas Day last December.

The court document says a family member later told investigators that Bush had confided in her that he had hurt his girlfriend. Another witness saw Bush loading a large and very heavy suitcase into his vehicle late Christmas night, Investigators later found the blood evidence in the vehicle, along with about a half-pound of cocaine.

Bush was previously sentenced to just over 20 years in prison for murdering a man in Rochester in 2006. He was discharged from prison and placed on supervised release in 2020 even though he was still four years away from his potential parole date.

He is currently being held in the Oak Park Heights State Prison pending a probation revocation hearing. His bail remains set at $3 million.