Inset: Brandon Rose (County of Sherburne). Background: The 17900 block of Fillmore Street in Elk River, Minn., where Brandon Rose allegedly beat his roommate to death at a home they shared (Google Maps).
A Minnesota man who was upset over his girlfriend being called a "fatso" by his 70-year-old roommate beat the septuagenarian to death and then hid his body under a heap of laundry, according to cops. He tried to end his own life after the alleged murder by injecting himself with air and "methylene blue," police say.
"Anyone who calls another [h]uman being a fatso and giggles….is not a human," wrote Brandon Rose, 49, of Elk River, in a text message to his girlfriend just hours before he allegedly killed his roommate, William Canty Jr., according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.
Police say Rose, who is charged with second-degree murder, called his girlfriend on Jan. 4 and told her about Canty's death and his suicide attempt. "Dead man walking," Rose allegedly muttered about himself during the phone call, according to the complaint.
Rose hung up on the woman but then spoke to her again and tried to claim that Canty was actually still alive, but that he was "going to kill himself" still, the complaint says.
The woman called police and officers showed up to the home where Rose and Canty live, located in the 17900 block of Fillmore Street, early Sunday and found Canty dead under a pile of clothing inside of a bathroom. A bloody shower curtain was found nearby in a laundry basket, along with a bloody bathrobe belt tie that was hanging on a towel rack.
Rose was found unconscious in a bedroom "with a needle stuck in his arm," according to the complaint. "Officers noticed that several small couches were overturned and that a syringe with a blue substance was near [Rose]," the complaint says.
Cops administered Narcan to Rose and he regained consciousness. Medical personnel arrived on scene and began treating him, during which officers allegedly "overheard" Rose talking about Canty and how he had "sexually propositioned him" before the killing.
"I won't do it," Rose recounted telling Canty, according to the complaint. He had "blue dye" and blood on his hands and shorts, the document says. His right hand allegedly appeared swollen and bruised. The "blue dye" was also found on Canty's body.
"In [Rose's] bedroom officers located a bottle identified as containing methylene blue and the label had the same color of blue dye as observed on [Rose] and [Canty]," the complaint alleges.
Police spoke with Rose's girlfriend and she said she spoke to him several times on Jan. 3 and during the early morning hours of Jan. 4. She said Rose was "rambling on the phone, stating that his roommate is dead and that [Rose] had injected himself with air three times," according to cops.
The woman recalled staying the night with Rose at the home on Jan. 2 and said "everything seemed fine" between the roommates. She said Rose, however, had accused Canty of making sexual advances toward him.
"[Rose] told her that during the evening of Dec. 31, 2025, [Canty] had entered his room, intoxicated, and asked [Rose] if he had ever had sex with a male," the complaint says. "[Rose] told the [girlfriend] that he planned on forgetting the incident and act as though it had never happened."
The woman stated that Rose allegedly told her that Canty called her "fat" and other names, while saying he did "the worst thing possible" to him.
Rose admitted in police interviews that "there was a scuffle" between him and Canty, according to the complaint. "All I can say is that he came into my room," Rose allegedly told investigators. "[Rose] later referenced [Canty] being in his room and touching him," the complaint concludes.
An autopsy of Canty showed that he sustained "numerous fractures" to his front, back and side ribs, that his clavicle was broken, he had fractured interior bones of his neck, and also suffered from brain bleeding.
Rose was arrested and charged with murder on Tuesday in Sherburne County. He is being held without bond and awaiting his next court date.
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