A 21-year-old man has been charged with being among several people who stole money and illicit drugs from a Red Lake Indian Reservation couple before fatally stabbing them and leaving their bodies to burn in their torched home on New Year's Day 2011.

In an indictment unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis, Kevin J. Needham, of Red Lake, was charged with two counts each of first- and second-degree murder in the deaths of Craig D. Roy and Darla A. Beaulieu, both 46. Needham, who appeared in court last week, had previously been charged in the case with robbery.

Charged with the same murder and robbery counts are four co-defendants: Geshik-O-Binese Martin, 30, of Redby; Edward M. Robinson, 28, no known address; David J. Martin, 46, of Columbia Heights; and George A. Martin, 24, of Red Lake. All five defendants are in federal custody. George and David Martin are brothers, and Geshik-O-Binese Martin is their cousin.

The bodies of Beaulieu and Roy were found in the charred rubble of the house. Autopsies determined they died from stab wounds.

Roy was born and raised in Red Lake. He moved in 1985 to Minneapolis, where he met Beaulieu. They returned to northern Minnesota and had three children and two grandchildren.

The Martins and Robinson have criminal histories in Minnesota, some of them extensive. As a group, their convictions include drug possession, assault, forgery, burglary, theft, weapons possession and fleeing authorities.

If convicted of murder, Needham, Robinson, and the Martins face potential maximum penalties of life in federal prison. They also face a potential maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison on the robbery charge.

PAUL WALSH