An Arkansas man has admitted choking his ex-girlfriend to death in her Edina home, then driving her body to New Orleans and burning it, authorities said in charges filed Tuesday.
Joseph S. Porter, 25, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 4 death of 27-year-old Cristina Prodan.
Porter, charged initially in federal court with kidnapping, remains held in federal custody in the Sherburne County jail and has a court appearance in Hennepin County scheduled for Thursday afternoon. On Tuesday, he made his first appearance in federal court in St. Paul on a substitute charge of interstate domestic violence.
The new charge in Hennepin County contains the same allegations as the federal case, but adds his confession and his numerous interactions with law enforcement as he drove south with Prodan's body. His federal attorney could not be reached for comment.
According to the criminal complaint, Porter told a police officer that he argued with Prodan and punched her several times. He then placed her in a chokehold until she lost consciousness.
Believing she was dead, he put her body in a large suitcase and fled with it to New Orleans, the confession said. He said he had intended to bury the body, but instead, he piled tires on top it and used several gallons of gasoline to set a fire in a shipping container. The flames left Porter with burns on his face.
He was arrested by Arkansas State Police for car theft later that month at the Little Rock area home he shared with his husband. The husband told investigators that Porter had talked about killing Prodan. A search of the home and the stolen car revealed items belonging to her, including jewelry, clothing and a cellphone.
Authorities say Porter met Prodan on Facebook and had been living with her since last fall. Prodan's mother, Livia, told Edina police that Porter raped her daughter, beat her service dog and killed a puppy in Arkansas, charging documents read.
