We Remember 2013
We Remember is a memorial to Minnesota’s victims of intimate partner homicide. Each of these victims is someone’s child, parent, sibling, family member, intimate partner, friend, neighbor, or co-worker.
Manya Johnson
Age 32
Saint Paul
January 6, 2013
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On January 6, 2013, Steven Roger Johnson shot and killed his wife Manya Johnson, 32, while their 18 month old son was present in the house. Steven Johnson used a saw to dismember his wife's body in the shower, placed the body in several plastic bins and stored them in a friend's garage in White Bear Lake. Steven Johnson had a violent criminal history. In 1996, he pled guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct, after authorities said he and an accomplice handcuffed a woman in a car and raped her. Authorities said Steven Johnson threatened to kill the woman and claimed he had a gun. He was sentenced to prison for 17 years and met Manya Johnson shortly after his release. They were married in 2009. Manya Johnson had been trying to leave the relationship at the time of her death.
Mark Urang
Age 50
Saint Paul
January 31, 2013
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Mark Urang was run down in a car by his girlfriend on January 31st as he was on the phone with 911 calling for help. In the recording, Mark Urang, is heard describing the suspect as Arlene P. Garcia and her car, then an argument, a scuffle and the sound of Mark Urang apparently being run over ends the call. In Mark Urang's 911 call, he provides Garcia's license plate number and is also heard saying that he's going to stand in front of the car. When police arrived at the scene about five minutes after the call, Mark Urang was sprawled out in the street. He was unresponsive, gurgling and choking. He died the next day. Garcia pled guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Brittany Clardy
Age 18
Brooklyn Park
February 11, 2013
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Brittany Clardy, of St. Paul, was last seen by her family February 11, 2013 when she left home in her parents’ 2000 silver Chrysler Concorde. She didn’t return. Ten days later her body was found in the car in a Columbia Heights impound lot. She died “on or about” the day she disappeared. Alberto Palmer was accused of striking 18-year-old Brittany Clardy in the head with a hammer multiple times during an encounter at a Brooklyn Park home which was arranged via an online escort service. Palmer was also wanted in Georgia on charges of assaulting three women he met through online escort services. Alberto Palmer was charged with premeditated first degree murder and first degree murder while committing first or second degree sexual assault.
Caron Fine
Age 67
Ramsey
February 12, 2013
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Police found the bodies of Mitchell Wolfe Fine and Caron Margaret Fine on February 12, 2013, following their adult daughter’s request for a welfare check at their house. The daughter called authorities after she received a concerning email from Mitchell Fine. Mitchell Fine and Caron Fine’s bodies were found in a bedroom with gunshot wounds to their heads. Nine cats were also found dead from apparent gunshot wounds. According to the police, evidence suggests Caron Fine, 67, was killed by Mitchell Fine before he committed suicide.
Kira Steger
Age 30
Saint Paul
February 22, 2013
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Kira Steger Trevino, age 30, was last seen alive February 21, 2013. Her body was found in the Mississippi River on May 8th, several months after her husband, Jeffery Trevino, reported her missing on February 24th. Kira Steger Trevino may have died from smothering or blunt force trauma but the exact cause of death is unknown. Injuries to Kira Steger Trevino's body included a head wound, a broken finger, bruising inside the lip and lacerations to the liver. At the time of her homicide, Kira Steger Trevino was attempting to leave her relationship with Jeffrey Trevino. Divorce papers were recovered from her car. Jeffery Trevino has been sentenced to 27.5 years in prison for second degree unintentional murder.
Cynthia Ann Lakeman
Age 45
Little Township
February 23, 2013
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On February 23, 2013, Morrison County deputies found Cynthia Lakeman, 45, and her husband, Richard Lakeman at their home, both dead of gunshot wounds. A .38 caliber revolver was recovered in the home at the time the bodies were found. Police determined that Richard Lakeman shot and killed Cynthia Lakeman before committing suicide.
Anna Hurd
Age 16
Maplewood
February 23, 2013
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Anna Hurd was stabbed to death by her boyfriend Anthony Joseph Mitchell, Jr. on February 23, 2013, the night before she was expected to move to Texas. 16-year-old Anna Hurd was attempting to break up with Anthony Mitchell at the time of the murder. Her friends said Anthony Mitchell was jealous and controlling and that they witnessed outbursts of anger from him in the weeks before Anna Hurd’s death, including an incident in which he bashed her kitten against her car's steering wheel. Friends said that Anna Hurd and Anthony Mitchell broke up several times and that she talked of ending things for good but she was afraid of what he might do. Anthony Mitchell pled guilty to intentional second-degree murder and has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Margorie Holland
Age 37
Apple Valley
March 7, 2013
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On March 7, 2013 Margorie Holland was found dead at the bottom of the stairs of the Apple Valley townhome she shared with her husband, Roger E. Holland. The medical examiner determined that Margorie Holland’s manner of death was homicide and the cause was strangulation. Margorie Holland had told Roger Holland she wanted to divorce him and turn him in to authorities for using her credit cards. There were searches on Roger Holland’s laptop and iPhone inquiring whether a person can break their neck falling down stairs and whether it’s possible to break someone’s neck with your bare hands. Roger Holland was convicted of two counts each of first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder for strangling 37-year-old Margorie Holland, who was 15 weeks pregnant with their first child.
Panhia Yang
Age 27
Saint Paul
March 24, 2013
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On March 22, 2013 Panhia Yang filed a restraining order against her husband, Chue Lor, after years of abuse. Panhia Yang told her sister that Chue Lor had been controlling and accused her of cheating, though she assured him she had not. Chue Lor had also physically assaulted and threatened to kill Panhia Yang in the past. When Panhia Yang returned to their St. Paul apartment to gather her belongings on Sunday, March 24 she called a non-emergency police dispatch to ask for an escort. Officers, busy on emergency calls, didn't immediately arrive. Panhia Yang, 27, then talked to Chue Lor on the phone. Her family thinks he convinced her it was safe to come in their apartment and she didn't wait for the police. Panhia Yang's 18-year-old brother Kong Meng Lee had come along to protect her. Just over an hour after Panhia Yang called for a police escort, police received a 911 call about the killings. Police suspect Chue Lor, 31, stabbed his wife and her brother to death before committing suicide. The couple's four children, ages 3 to 9, were in the apartment at the time of the killings.
Kong Meng Lee
Age 18
Saint Paul
March 24, 2013
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Kong Meng Lee had accompanied his sister, Panhia Yang, to recover her belongings from the apartment she shared with her husband who she was leaving. Police suspect Chue Lor, 31, stabbed Kong Meng Lee and his sister to death before committing suicide. The couple's four children, ages 3 to 9, were in the apartment at the time of the killings.
Geraldine Kading
Age 69
Detroit Lakes
April 10, 2013
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David Lee Stensrud killed Geraldine Kading with a crossbow before attempting to commit suicide. Officers responded to a call and found Geraldine Kading, 69, dead at the scene with an arrow sticking out of her chest. David Lee Stensrud was found lying on the floor of the bathroom. He, too, had an arrow sticking out of his chest. There was a crossbow lying on the bed next to him. Geraldine Kading was dating David Lee Stensrud at the time of her murder. David Lee Stensrud is a convicted sex offender having pled guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1998 and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1999.
Klaressa Lorayne Cook
Age 24
Brooklyn Park
April 11, 2013
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On May 20, 2013, 24-year-old Klaressa Cook’s body was found in a vehicle in a Minneapolis tow lot. Her car had been towed there on April 11 from a parking lot in Brooklyn Park. According to family, Klaressa Cook had mentioned that at the end of 2012 she had ended a relationship with a man she’d been seeing in Atlanta. That was around the same time that Alberto Palmer left his job in Atlanta and came to the Twin Cities. Alberto Palmer was wanted in Georgia on charges of assaulting three women he met through online escort services. Alberto Palmer has been charged with two counts of first degree murder in Klaressa’s death. He was also convicted with killing a St. Paul woman, Brittany Clardy.
James Schwartzbauer
Age 57
Lake Hattie Township
May 31, 2013
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Authorities say Fredrick Bachman shot James Schwartzbauer, age 57, torched the lakeside home where they lived and watched it burn as he smoked a pipe. According to the complaint, Bachman told investigators he and James Schwartzbauer had an argument on the night of May 30 and into the early hours of May 31. Bachman said James Schwartzbauer, who was his roommate for four years, was his “best friend and that he loved him”. Investigators, along with a diving team, found a shotgun in the water about 38 feet away from the home’s dock. James Schwartzbauer’s relatives said that shotgun matched one he owned. The autopsy showed evidence that James Schwartzbauer had died prior to the fire and there were shotgun pellets in his body tissue.
Nancy A. Sullivan
Age 57
Shoreview
June 4, 2013
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Nancy A. Sullivan, 57, was moving out of her Shoreview home on June 4, 2013 when her live-in boyfriend, Johnny L. Simpson killed her. Johnny Simpson also shot Nancy Sullivan’s daughter, Katie Fay, and her boyfriend, Tony Brown who were assisting Nancy Sullivan in her move. Johnny Simpson then shot and killed himself. Both Nancy Sullivan and Johnny Simpson were dead at the scene from gunshot wounds when sheriff’s deputies arrived at their house. While there are no court records of domestic violence by Johnny Simpson against Nancy Sullivan, court records from Johnny Simpson’s 2002 divorce from his ex-wife accuse him of domestic abuse and bullying behavior.
Yesenia Gonzalez
Age 20
Mankato
June 6, 2013
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Yesenia Gonzalez, also known as Sunny, was murdered in a brutal attack at her Mankato home. Levi Minissale stabbed 20-year-old Yesenia Gonzalez to death and left her husband injured. After he was arrested, Levi Minissale told police Yesenia Gonzalez got what she deserved "in a way." He cut Yesenia Gonzalez’s throat and fled, leaving her to desperately seek help from her husband and father-in-law before bleeding to death. Levi Minissale and Yesenia Gonsalez had dated in the past. Levi Minissale was charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.
Janell Norrbom
Age 47
Clear Lake Township
June 14, 2013
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Janell Norrbom was found in the garage of her home by officers who were responding to a 911 call from a relative. The 911 caller reported that Christopher Norrbom said he shot his wife and was going to shoot himself. Responding officers were able to reach Christopher Norrbom by phone and begin negotiations. Hours later, when negotiations broke down, officers got into the home’s attached garage and found 47-year-old Janell Norrbom’s body. They then entered the home and found Christopher Norrbom’s body. Police have ruled that Christopher Norrbom shot Janell Norrbom and later shot and killed himself.
Perry Paulson
Age 49
Moundsview
June 20, 2013
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Stephen E. Gooler is charged with using scissors to fatally stab Perry Paulson on June 20th. According to the complaint, Stephen Gooler met Perry Paulson on a chat line and the two met each other for the first time on June 17. They met again on June 20 at Perry Paulson’s apartment in Mounds View. Neighbors called police when a naked, bloody Perry Paulson knocked on their door. Neighbors told police, blood was spurting from his neck and shoulder area and that Stephen Gooler was behind Perry Paulson but then ran back into Perry Paulson’s apartment. Officers found large amounts of blood in the building’s entryway, carpet and ceiling. More blood was found in the apartment, along with two bloody knives and a bloody pair of scissors.
Perry Paulson
Age 49
Moundsview
June 20, 2013
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Stephen E. Gooler is charged with using scissors to fatally stab Perry Paulson on June 20th. According to the complaint, Stephen Gooler met Perry Paulson on a chat line and the two met each other for the first time on June 17. They met again on June 20 at Perry Paulson’s apartment in Mounds View. Neighbors called police when a naked, bloody Perry Paulson knocked on their door. Neighbors told police, blood was spurting from his neck and shoulder area and that Stephen Gooler was behind Perry Paulson but then ran back into Perry Paulson’s apartment. Officers found large amounts of blood in the building’s entryway, carpet and ceiling. More blood was found in the apartment, along with two bloody knives and a bloody pair of scissors.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson
Age 48
Saint Peter
June 24, 2013
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On June 24th, 2013 officers were dispatched to a house in St. Peter for an unknown medical emergency called in by a family member. When police arrived, they discovered the bodies of 48-year-old Jacquelyn Marie Johnson and 53-year-old Joel Bruce Reineke. The two had died from violent trauma, police said. A preliminary investigation into the deaths indicates that Jacquelyn Marie Johnson was shot by Joel Reineke before he turned the shotgun on himself. Autopsy results confirm the deaths to have been a murder-suicide. Family members told investigators that the two had dated previously, but were not currently in a relationship.
Landon J. Pederson
Age 21
Minneapolis
June 25, 2013
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Landon Pederson was shot to death on June 2, 2013 in a north Minneapolis home, where he and others in his family were staying temporarily. Police said there were several children in the home at the time of the violence. Family members told the media that Pederson was killed while stopping a “physical dispute” between the couple whose house he was living in.
Arnong Rajvong
Age 26
Minneapolis
July 13, 2013
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Arnong Rajvong, 26, of Minneapolis, died after being shot in the head in a drive-by shooting. A woman in the car with Arnong Rajvong was seriously wounded but survived. Arnong Rajvong’s brother said he was told by a passenger in the vehicle that his sister had been picked up by a man when she went to a nearby bar the same night. At the end of the night, Arnong Rajvong decided to leave the bar with her friends rather than the man. The man was upset, questioning Arnong Rajvong on why she was not leaving with him. While driving away from the bar, two men sped up to the departing car and looked inside before shooting Arnong Rajvong in the back seat.
Sonya Ann Smith
Age 43
Deer River
July 24, 2013
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Sonya Ann Smith, 43, was killed by her boyfriend, Eugene Nason, 50, on July 24, 2013 at the home they shared in Deer River. Itasca County law enforcement officials responded to an emergency call after a woman found Sonya Ann Smith's body in an overflowing bathtub. Her body bore lacerations and bruising on the face and neck. A medical examiner found that Smith died of multiple traumatic injuries, including a ruptured liver and spleen, broken ribs and cerebral hemorrhaging. Several neighbors told investigators that they heard a scream around 4 a.m. that morning and one neighbor called law enforcement in response to the scream. Eugene Nason pled guilty to second-degree murder and is sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Ethan M. Honer
Age 20
Dent
July 31, 2013
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Jacob Geiser fatally shot Ethan M. Honer, 20, of Dent, before turning the gun on himself. Ethan Honer was dating Geiser’s ex-girlfriend at the time of the murder-suicide. Ethan Honer had accompanied the woman to Geiser’s house to retrieve her dog.
Staff Sgt Brandon Horst
Age 25
Saint Paul
August 5, 2013
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Shortly after 1 a.m. on August 5, 2013 Heather Horst called 911 and reported that her husband, Brandon Horst, was in bed with a lot of blood coming from his head. She said she did not know what happened. Authorities found Brandon Horst in the upstairs bedroom with a single gunshot wound to the head. A single 9mm casing was also found on the bed. Heather Horst and her friend Aaron W. Allen were charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit a felony for the death of her husband, Brandon J. Horst.
Eddie Sole
Age 58
Shorewood
August 21, 2013
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Jetaun Wheeler is charged with killing Eddie Sole, 58, and stuffing his body in a freezer in his Shorewood home. According to authorities, Eddie Sole was trying to leave the relationship at the time of his murder. The cause of Eddie Sole’s death is undetermined pending further investigation. Murder charges against Wheeler said she beat him with a closet rod before wrapping him in plastic and duct tape and hiding the body in a freezer in the garage. Authorities believe he was killed around August 1, 2013 but his body wasn’t found for weeks. Wheeler told authorities that Eddie Sole had taken the bus back to Chicago, where he was originally from but a search of the home August 21 turned up a piece of bloody carpeting under Wheeler’s mattress. A spatter of blood led investigators to the garage, where they found a newly purchased freezer with Eddie Sole’s body inside. He was wearing bloody clothes and had significant blunt-force trauma to his head.
Nancy Elaine Williams
Age 58
Long Prairie
August 22, 2013
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58-year-old Nancy Elaine Williams was found dead at her home, south of Long Prairie, on August 22, 2013 after deputies were called about a “domestic disturbance”. According to the complaint, Nancy Williams had gone to a neighbor’s and said her ex-husband, Craig Williams, was threatening her. She then returned home and was later found dead. She appeared to have died from blunt force trauma. Her ex-husband, Craig Williams, was charged with her murder. The deputy found the body of Nancy Williams on the kitchen floor. A cast iron anvil was found near her face. The couple was divorced in 2007. Craig Williams was previously convicted of 5th degree assault in 1993, 5th degree domestic assault in 1995, violating an order of protection in 1995, and domestic assault in 2007.
Sherell Montrese Craighead
Age 30
September 1, 2013
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30-year-old Sherell Montrese Craighead's body was found by her 7-year-old son on September 1, 2013. Sammy Henderson has been charged with second-degree murder while committing rape and second-degree murder while committing assault. The Ramsey County medical examiner’s office ruled Sherell Craighead’s death a homicide caused by asphyxia due to manual strangulation. According to reports, Sammy Henderson who was acquainted with Sherell Craighead sexually assaulted and strangled her. Sherell Craighead’s son told the police that his mother had been screaming for help and that Sammy Henderson was in the apartment at that time. Sammy Henderson has previous convictions for damage to property, disorderly conduct and interfering with a 911 call involving other victims.
Kara Ann Monson
Age 26
Granite Falls
September 2, 2013
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In the days prior to her murder, Kara Monson and other family members had received threatening messages from her ex-boyfriend Andrew Dikken. He had also been stalking Monson. Andrew Dikken has been indicted on six counts of first degree murder, in connection with the shooting deaths of Kara Monson, and her boyfriend Chris Panitzke. When police arrived at the scene, Chris Panitzke told officers that Andrew Dikken had snuck into Kara Monson's home at 3:00 a.m., flipped on the bedroom lights and opened fire. Kara Monson, age 26, died instantly while Chris Panitzke lived several more days before dying from multiple gunshot wounds.
Nerissa Shaw
Age 46
Saint Louis Park
September 4, 2013
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Nerissa Shaw’s body was found wrapped in a sheet along the fence line of a business in St Louis Park. The medical examiner’s office ruled her death a homicide. The complaint states that Walter Thompson and Nerissa Shaw, 46, were together on September 13, 2013 when he beat her to death. Two days later, security cameras from Walter Thompson’s apartment complex showed him and two women carrying and pushing a heavy plastic container from the apartment and into a car. Police determined the two women were Walter Thompson’s daughter and his sister. Both women have been charged with felony accomplice after the fact. Walter Thompson had been on probation for violating an order of protection involving Nerissa Shaw.
Joseph Yang
Age 33
Roseville
September 5, 2013
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Roseville police responded to a report of a shooting with two men on September 5th in a parking lot a few blocks from the Rosedale Shopping Center. Police say Cheng Vang and his wife, both from Roseville, traveled to the business where she worked, to meet with her co-worker Joseph Yang, 33, of Brooklyn Park. Once there, Cheng Vang shot Joseph Yang multiple times with a semi-automatic pistol before turning the pistol on himself. Cheng Vang believed that Joseph Yang was having an affair with his wife.
Anitra Rochelle Williams
Age 26
Eden Prairie
September 21, 2013
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Anitra Rochelle Williams, 26, was killed by her husband, Derrick Antoine Williams on September 21, 2013. Neighbors said they heard shouting, a gunshot and screaming from inside the second-floor apartment after what sounded like a heated argument. Police responded to calls but couldn’t reach anyone inside the home. Upon eventual entrance to the home, they found the couple dead. It was determined that Derrick Williams killed Anitra Williams before committing suicide. Police had been called in October 2009 to the couple’s home due to a “verbal domestic dispute”.
Anarae Schunk
Age 20
Rosemount
September 22, 2013
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Anthony Lee Nelson has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and intentional second-degree murder in the September 22, 2013 shooting death of Palagor O. Jobi outside a Burnsville bar. Anthony Lee Nelson, also known as Shavelle Oscar Chavez-Nelson, is suspected in the death of 20-year-old Anarae Schunk. After the shooting of Palagor Jobi, Anarae left the bar with Anthony Lee Nelson, her ex-boyfriend, and his current girlfriend; Anarae Schunk wasn’t seen alive again. Her body was found September 30 in a roadside ditch near Lonsdale, Minnesota. At the time of the release of this report, charges had not yet been filed in Anarae Schunk’s death.
Palagor Obang Jobi
Age 23
Burnsville
September 22, 2013
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Palagor Jobi was shot and killed by Shavelle Oscar Chavez-Nelson, also known as Anthony Lee Nelson, who is also the prime suspect in the homicide of Anarae Schunk. Nelson allegedly told Palagor Jobi to stop talking to his girlfriend and a physical altercation broke out. Witnesses say Nelson pulled a gun and fired multiple shots at Palagor Jobi. A cousin of the victim then jumped on Nelson, causing the gun to go off again. Palagor Jobi was declared dead on the scene. An examination of his body indicated he had been shot eight times.
Steven Lee Vasey Jr.
Age 31
Rosemount
October 8, 2013
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Police found the bodies of 32-year-old Steven Lee Vasey Jr. and Melissa Vasey, 31, following a welfare check at an apartment. The deaths were ruled a murder-suicide. Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office indicated that Melissa Vasey was the shooter. According to the medical examiner's report, Steven Vasey Jr. suffered multiple gunshot wounds while Melissa Vasey suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Mandy Matula
Age 24
Eden Prairie
October 26, 2013
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Mandy Matula, 24-years-old, was last seen at her home in Eden Prairie on May 1, 2013 and reported missing the following morning. Police deemed her ex-boyfriend, David Marshall Roe, a person of interest in her disappearance. Roe agreed to talk to police, but before they could question him, he shot and killed himself. Mandy Matula and David Roe had dated for about a year. Mandy Matula broke up with him in November, although they had remained on "good terms." Mandy Matula’s body was found on October 26th. Police believe David Roe shot Mandy Matula in Eden Prairie before driving to a park on the Mississippi River a few miles north of Sartell, where he buried her body.
Laura Simonson
Age 32
Rochester
November 2, 2013
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Laura Simonson, of Farmington, MN, was last seen entering a Rochester hotel with 52 year old Steven Zelich, a former police officer from Wisconsin. Laura was reported missing November 22, 2013. On June 5, 2014, police in Wisconsin discovered two bodies in suitcases along a highway and identified one as Laura Simonson. Rochester police say Zelich and Laura were known acquaintances that had a previous relationship through the Internet. In 2001, a woman had reported to the police that Zelich had attempted to rape her. Zelich’s case was never referred to prosecutors for possible criminal charges. Steven Zelich has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse. Laura Simonson was the mother of 7 children.
Shalonda Clark
Age 35
Ponsford
December 30, 2013
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Charles James Jones, 48, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson in the death of his girlfriend of 16 years, Shalonda Sioux Clark. Shalonda, age 35, was asleep on a sofa when Charles Jones allegedly set fire to the house they shared together with their three children. She died of asphyxiation by carbon monoxide poisoning, according to a preliminary report by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office. Jones has several prior convictions, including fifth-degree domestic assault, fourth-degree intentional damage to property and fifth-degree controlled substance crime.