Disclaimer: The article has mentions of killing.
Few incidents are so shocking, so senseless, that they leave an entire town asking why.
It started with a debt, a hundred dollars. But in Cass Lake, Minnesota, that small sum sparked a fatal chase and a single deadly strike. Twenty-one-year-old Avery Cadwell pleaded guilty to killing his neighbor, 28-year-old Codi Brown, after running him down in the street. Over a hundred bucks. How far would you go over a mere $100?
Cadwell and Brown weren’t strangers. They lived near each other, and somewhere between them hung that $100 that Cadwell believed Brown owed. On June 15, Brown was riding his ATV down Porcupine Road when Cadwell saw him. Witnesses later recalled Cadwell saying he was “going to get” Brown. The words soon turned into action.
While Minnesota faces a deficit and a rising violent crime rate, Tim Walz is in Iowa today attacking me.
Sadly, for Tampon Tim, we’ve done over 300 town halls with thousands of Iowans who know I have their back. pic.twitter.com/ry9YJzH91q
— Zach Nunn (@NunnForCongress) March 14, 2025
Cadwell chased the ATV on foot and closed the gap between them. When he caught up, he drove his knife into Brown’s chest in one single, fatal blow. Brown tried to keep going, steering the ATV for a short distance before he lost control and fell. By the time deputies arrived around 9:30 p.m., Brown lay beside his tipped-over ATV, unresponsive. He wasn’t breathing. He had no pulse. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late. What happened next would set off a manhunt through the dark Minnesota woods.
Witnesses told deputies the attacker’s name — Avery. Officers launched drones and sent K9 units into the trees. Cadwell had fled, but soon emerged from the woods and went home. That’s where deputies found him and placed him under arrest.
Later, Cadwell told police he regretted bringing a knife. He said he only meant to confront Brown about the money, that he thought he had hurt him, not killed him.
Can a debt really justify such extreme actions?
Charged with second-degree murder, Cadwell faced up to 40 years in prison. But after pleading guilty on October 24, a judge sentenced him to 25 years behind bars. Some in the community saw it as justice. Others thought no sentence could balance what was lost.
Codi Brown’s death over a hundred-dollar dispute left a deep mark on Cass Lake. It’s a harsh reminder of how quickly anger can turn lethal — and how little it takes for a life to end.
Was justice served? Was 25 years enough for a man’s life?
Share your thoughts, and remember what’s truly worth fighting for.
