St. Cloud Man’s Murder Trial to Begin After Years of Delays

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- The trial of a St. Cloud man accused of murdering a woman seven years ago is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Forty-five-year-old Daniel Kenning is accused of bringing a woman he had previously met back to his house and strangling her to death. Kenning is accused of strangling 45-year-old Jennifer Moy in September 2018. He is charged with 1st-degree and 2nd-degree murder.

DELAYS IN THE CASE

Kenning has undergone multiple mental competency evaluations ahead of the charges and was found competent in December 2024.

In March 2025, a Stearns County judge struck the jury trial that was set to begin. According to the Stearns County Attorney's Office, new information came to light, so the judge ordered a Rule 20.02 examination related to a possible mental illness defense in the case of Kenning.

THE LATEST

A judge has set aside three weeks for a new jury trial, scheduled to run from September 8th through September 26th.

THE INVESTIGATION

According to the complaint, Kenning walked into the St. Cloud Police Department in September 2018 and told officers he had just killed someone. Officers responded to Kenning's house at 1121 10th Avenue North and found the Blaine woman dead inside.

Kenning allegedly told authorities God had told him he needed to kill someone and that he would be able to resurrect them.

Court records show the investigation determined Kenning picked up Moy the night before and drove her back to his house, where he handcuffed her to a table, tied up her legs, and then intentionally strangled her until she died.

CAUSE OF DEATH

An autopsy confirmed Moy died of asphyxiation due to probable strangulation, and that the manner of death was a homicide.