Death in Maple Grove from 2009 without charges

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said it found “insufficient evidence” to file criminal charges against anyone who may have been involved in the 2009 death of 19-year-old Robbie Anderson of Maple Grove.

Anderson died while spending the night in a Maple Grove dorm with two high school friends.

Police said they had been drinking before Anderson’s death.

The Hennepin County Coroner’s Office called Anderson’s case a “sudden unexplained death” and prosecutors did not file charges.

However, Anderson’s family commissioned independent forensic experts to investigate the case. His body was exhumed in 2022 and a second autopsy was performed.

The independent medical examiners concluded that Anderson’s death was the result of blunt force trauma.

As a result, Maple Grove Police refiled the case with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on August 11, 2023.

A spokesman for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said five senior attorneys in the Adult Prosecutions Division investigated the case and reviewed evidence from the independent investigation.

All five lawyers “found insufficient evidence and recommended that no charges be brought against the two men who were with Mr. Anderson that night,” the spokesman said.

No charges filed

The public prosecutor’s office ultimately declined to file charges.

“We have deep sympathy for Mr. Anderson’s family and the tragic loss of his life,” the law firm’s spokesperson said. “We devoted significant resources to this case to assess whether charges were warranted. The independent conclusions of five of the firm’s most experienced attorneys were that there is insufficient evidence to support charges in this case.”

Sandra Cikotte Anderson, Robbie Anderson’s mother, told CCX News that she wants the case to be reviewed by another district.

“Charges can be filed in this case at any time in the future,” she said. “There is no statute of limitations for murder or manslaughter… We do not believe Hennepin County reviewed Rob’s case fairly or proactively. We believe they were looking for a way out of the mess they created. It’s all just smoke and mirrors. I respectfully request that another county, such as Ramsey, review Rob’s case to ensure it is handled impartially.”

Maple Grove