Police link man to two women whose bodies were found in different Minnesota storage units
St. Paul Police said Friday they located the remains of a woman who went missing two years ago. Her death has been linked to a man who was charged after another woman’s dismembered body was found in a different storage unit in another Minneapolis suburb.
The Midwest Medical Examiner's office identified remains found in a Coon Rapids storage unit on Thursday as those of 33-year-old Fanta Xayavong, and ruled her death a homicide.
St. Paul Police Sgt. Mike Ernster said investigators searched the unit after a tipster said Xayavong had been in a relationship with the Maplewood man charged with killing 33-year-old Manijeh “Mani” Starren and leaving her body in a Woodbury storage unit.
Police have not determined where or when Xayavong was killed, Ernster said. Investigators searched a home Friday where until last September the man lived.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Ernster emphasized that the suspect in Starren's death has not been charged in Xayavong's death.
"He is just a person of interest. He has a connection to her, as well as Mani, did."
The 40-year-old suspect is jailed on $5 million bond on charges of second-degree intentional murder in Starren's death.
Police Chief Axel Henry said at a Friday news conference that “cases like this are extremely rare, but they are reminders to all of us that monsters can be real.”