BRAINERD, Minn. — Friends and family remembered Bethany Anne Bernatsky as a beautiful soul who was killed in a senseless act of violence three years ago at a northern Minnesota resort. Cameron Jay Moser The 30-year-old man facing first-degree murder charges in Bernatsky’s shooting death in 2021 accepted a plea deal and was sentenced last week in Crow Wing County District Court.
In the investigation into the murder, officials and family members stated they believed Bernatsky was killed in a case of mistaken identity as her killer thought she was his ex-girlfriend, whose parents previously owned the resort in Nisswa. Cameron Jay Moser was convicted of intentional murder in the second degree in Bernatsky’s death and was sentenced to 34 years in prison. In Minnesota, a sentence consists of a minimum term of imprisonment equal to two-thirds of the total sentence, and supervised release equal to one-third of the total sentence.
Moser appeared alongside his attorneys Daniel Hawley and Conrad Kragness. Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan informed Judge Erik Askegaard that the state reached an agreement with Moser to plead guilty to second-degree intentional murder, and the state would dismiss the remaining first-degree murder charges related to premeditation. With the plea, Moser agreed to waive his rights to a trial.
Moser admitted that on the night of Oct. 7, 2021, he entered Cabin No. 5 at the Cozy Bay Resort on Lake Edward, where Bernatsky, a 46-year-old Brainerd horse train.