MN: APT COMPLEX DISPUTE LEADS TO TRIPLE MURDER
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ST. PAUL, Minnesota (WCCO) — A 30-year-old St. Paul, Minnesota, man is accused of executing three people inside a leasing office Monday over a parking garage contract dispute.
According to charges filed in Ramsey County, officers were called to the Davern Park Apartments on the 1500 block of St. Paul Avenue shortly after 4 p.m. after several people reported gunshots and screams. One caller said two people appeared to be critically wounded inside the apartment leasing office.
When officers arrived, they found three victims fatally shot. The three victims were identified by the medical examiner Tuesday morning as 25-year-old Nansi Fuentes Zambrano of Inver Grove Heights, 56-year-old Dena Silcox of St. Paul and 43-year-old Adam Wilwerding of Oakdale.
Wilwerding and Silcox were found in the front area of the leasing office, and Zambrano was found in the back area.
Officers recovered 21 9mm bullet casings in the office, police said.
A man called police to report that his roommate, Tsegaab Ademassu Binessu, had confessed to the shooting, police said.
In an interview with police, Binessu said he had recently sold his car because he was planning to join the military, according to police. He said he tried to get out of his garage parking contract, but the leasing office told him it can’t be changed. Binessu admitted to then going to the leasing office, “but did not explain what happened there,” the complaint said.
Surveillance video shows Binessu speaking with Wilwerding before he pulled out a gun and shot him multiple times, police said. He then can be seen shooting Silcox multiple times, the complaint said. He then headed out of camera view, down a hallway, before more gunshots were heard.
Police say Binessu was arrested later that night in Virginia, Minnesota — about 200 miles north of St. Paul — while driving Zambrano’s vehicle. In the vehicle, he had what appeared to be newly purchased camping gear, his U.S. passport, Social Security card, an empty handgun magazine and a permit to carry a firearm, according to police.
Binessu faces three felony counts of second-degree murder.
He made his first court appearance Wednesday morning, where the judge ordered him to stay behind bars until his trial date in mid-August.
Neighbors say they’re still coming to grips with the shocking loss of three lives. Traci Stevens says she knew the victims, all of whom worked at the complex.
“I can’t believe it at all, and I probably won’t understand,” Stevens said. “I just hope they have the right individual, because if not we’ve still got a murderer out running around.”
Stevens says she’s never seen anything close to a crime like this in the seven years she’s lived in the complex.
“It’s sad, it’s so sad,” she said.
A neighbor who wanted to stay anonymous says people who live near the leasing office heard arguments, screaming and then several gunshots.
“I feel very sad last night. I didn’t sleep the whole time. I was shocked. I feel sad because think about this, every family is our family,” the neighbor said.
Tuesday evening, residents and family members came together with flowers, candles and prayers.
The gathering was filled with grief but also happy memories of the people who were killed.
A tree outside the leasing office has a photo of Silcox on it, right next to it, Mountain Dew, something her family says she loved.
Her family remembered her as an incredible daughter, mother and sister. Her father, Bob Silcox, describes her as perfect and someone who brought love to everyone around her.
Bob Silcox said his daughter worked for the company for about 10 years and was loved by her coworkers.
“She was able to manage with people she had problems with, but evidently not this one,” he said. “This is senseless.”
Friends of Zambrano remember her laughter, incredible dance moves and the joy she brought into their lives.
“She loved me singing to her, always dancing,” smiled Estreya Velazquez. “We just think about her; to me she is just beautiful inside and out.”
Suzy Post remembers her brother, Wilwerding, as a caring and amazing person inside and out.
Many people who came to pay their respects say they want all the victims to be remembered for how they lived and treated people, not for the tragedy that took their lives.
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