Man charged in St. Paul leasing office triple killing makes first court appearance
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A man charged with killing three people in a St. Paul leasing office on Monday made his first public appearance in court today.
Tsegaab Ademassu Binessu, 30, was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with three counts of second-degree murder. His bail is set at $10 million.
Charges filed against him say he opened fire on the apartment management employees after they told him he couldn’t cancel his garage parking contract.
He’s accused of killing Nansi G. Fuentes Zambrano, 25, of Inver Grove Heights; Dena M. Silcox, 56, of St. Paul; and Adam J. Wilwerding, 43, of Oakdale. They were fatally shot inside an apartment complex leasing office on St. Paul Avenue on Monday afternoon.
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Roxanne and Robert Habeck, 70, have lived in the apartment complex for 36 years. Roxanne said they had always signed their lease with Silcox and said she just “can’t believe it.”
The Habecks just re-signed their lease, but Silcox wasn’t there to accept it. On Wednesday, they handed it to Michael Haatvedt, the complex’s portfolio manager, instead.
Celmira, 65, has lived in the apartment complex since 2009. She said she knew all three employees.
Celmira, who asked to only be referred to by her first name out of concern for her safety, said she returned home from shopping when she saw yellow police tape blocking off the office.
Her first instinct was to call Zambrano and ask what was going on, but she did not yet know Zambrano had been killed.
Speaking in Spanish, Celmira said, “Este Nansi, la muchacha era muy linda persona. La extraño mucho. La tengo en mi corazón. Era intérprete ella cuando veníamos a cualquier cosa del apartamento.”
“Nansi was a very kind person,” she said. “I miss her a lot. She’s in my heart. She interpreted for us whenever we needed help with something related to the apartment.”
Celmira said she had also known Silcox for years and considered her a friend.
“Yo no puedo creer que ellas estén muertas. Yo no puedo creer que ya no estén con nosotros.”
“I can’t believe they are dead. I can’t believe they are no longer with us,” Celmira said in Spanish.
Binessu’s longtime roommate reportedly called police and said Binessu had confessed to the shooting. He said Binessu had quit his trucking job and planned on enlisting in the Navy — and that he had just sold his vehicle.
“The roommate thought Binessu planned to speak with apartment management about cancelling his $65/month parking garage contract because he had sold his car,” the complaint states. “The roommate spoke to Binessu hours later. Binessu said he had argued with apartment management and ended up killing three people.”
Roxanne said Silcox always took the time to chat with her, even when she was heading out on her lunch break.
“All three of them, just the greatest people,” Roxanne said. “Over $65, I said, couldn't they arrange to do something different?”
Roxanne said anyone who didn’t know them “missed out on an opportunity to know some of the best people.”
Binnesu’s next appearance in court is scheduled for Aug. 13.
