Alexandria Woman Receives Seven-Year Sentence for Murder in Faribault Prison

Rice County Court Judge Thomas Neuville sentenced 34-year-old Melissa Guillette to 86 months in prison for a third-degree murder she pleaded guilty to.

Guillette admitted to authorities she brought methamphetamine pills into the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault on September 5 and gave them to 36-year-old Jason Nyberg. Three hours later he was found unresponsive in his prison cell.

According to a Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office autopsy report, the cause of death was methamphetamine toxicity.

The criminal complaint in Rice County Court stated on September 4 a phone call was recorded at the prison between Nyberg and Guillette and they discussed concealing an "item" for her to bring him at the prison.

The following day, the complaint states, the MCF-Faribault logs indicate the visit began at 10:43AM and ended just after noon.

Nyberg was found dead in his cell at 3:15PM.

During an interview with investigators, according to the complaint, Guillette admitted Nyberg requested she deliver 4 grams of methamphetamine.

She ground the meth into a fine powder and placed it into two small gelatin capsules. She told authorities she placed 1.4 grams of meth in one capsule and 1.1 grams in the other.

The complaint alleges Guillette told authorities she placed the pills in her back pocket before entering the prison and gave them to Nyberg during their visit. She said he placed them in his mouth before they concluded their visit. He told her he was going to spit them out after his strip search.

She was arrested September 28 without incident at her rural Alexandria, Minn., home.

When Neuville announced his decision, he noted the guidelines for the offense with no criminal history are 74-103 months.

The state agreed to drop the delivering a controlled substance and bringing/sending/introducing contraband into a state prison charges in exchange for her guilty plea to third-degree murder.

Guillette will serve her time at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee.