We Remember 2012
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.
Patrick Jaworski
Age 20
Saint Paul
January 1, 2012
Patrick Jaworski was at a New Year’s Eve party surrounded by friends when he entered into a fight that was fatal. Earlier that evening Patrick had been dancing with a friend, B. B’s boyfriend, William Dudley Cummins, was also at the party. Cummins was acting jealously and at one point took his girlfriend’s phone. B asked Jaworski for help retrieving the phone. Jaworski approached Cummins and asked for the phone back. Cummins then stabbed him. Jaworski was taken to the hospital but did not survive his stab wounds.
Vinessa Lozano
Age 18
Montevideo
January 13, 2012
On January 13, 2012, Vinessa Lozano had just finished a shift at the Pizza Ranch in Montevideo, Minnesota when her co-worker, 24-year-old Darek Nelson, stabbed her 30 times with a large hunting knife. She was brought to the hospital but died soon after. Vinessa had befriended Nelson after he started working at the pizza restaurant in 2011 but Nelson took her friendship to be something more, despite the fact that she had an 18-month old son and a fiancée. Just before the murder, Vinessa had refused Nelson’s invitation to meet him at his mother’s residence. A grand jury indicted Nelson on first-degree murder.
Christine Schnor
Age 39
Moundsview
January 25, 2012
After a week of not being able to reach Christine and Mark Schnor, relatives decided to call the police and ask them to do a welfare check on the couple. When the police arrived, they found them both dead in their bed. The police determined that Mark Schnor shot his wife, Christine and then committed suicide. The couple’s dog was also found shot to death in the house.
Bret Struck
Brooklyn Park
Age 42
February 12, 2012
On February 12, Rochelle Inselmen went to her ex-boyfriend Bret Struck’s house. Inselmen, gained entry to Bret’s house on the pretense that she needed to talk to him about something important. Once inside the house, the two started arguing and Inselmen pulled a gun, shooting Struck nine times. Prior to February 12th, Inselmen had been stalking Struck by hacking his Facebook and email accounts and sending defamatory messages to his friends and family. Inselmen was indicted for first degree murder, but pled guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Dominga Limon
Age 40
Glencoe
February 21, 2012
On February 23rd Dominga Limon’s 20-year-old daughter had just come to her mother’s house. The daughter had stepped outside to her car and saw through a window her mother being attacked by the mother’s boyfriend, David Muniz Bustos. David Bustos stabbed Limon several times in the chest. When the daughter rushed inside to help her mother, Bustos escaped on foot down the street but was later apprehended by the police. Limon was taken to the hospital where she passed away due to the severity of her injuries. Dominga Limon left behind three children – including an eight year old son. Bustos had a past pattern of domestic abuse. David Bustos has been indicted on first-degree murder charges and is awaiting trial.
Christopher M. Fulmer
Age 37
Blue Earth
February 21, 2012
On February 20th, Christopher Fulmer, his girlfriend CF and her three daughters were asleep in Fulmer’s house when CF’s estranged husband, Brian Daniel Freeman, broke into the house armed with a hammer. Freeman injured CF’s two teenage daughters, beat Fulmer to death with the hammer, and severely injured CF who was lying in the bed next to Fulmer. CF and her two daughters were badly hurt and Fulmer was dead.
Carolyn Leete
Age 32
Saint Paul
March 3, 2012
Carolyn Leete was a St. Paul artist and nanny. On the night of March 2nd, she was out with her boyfriend, Bret Lynch. While the couple was out to a bar during the evening, Leete’s van was stolen. Lynch called his mother, who sent his aunt to pick up the couple. His mother later admitted to being afraid of her son whenever he would drink. Once back at the apartment, Lynch claimed that he had to carry Leete up the stairs and that fatal injuries occurred when he was carelessly putting her down. However, the evidence did not support Lynch’s story. According to investigators, Leete suffered brutal injuries and was beaten to death by Lynch. The medical examiner ruled that Leete died of traumatic head injury due to physical assault. Lynch has a long history of domestic violence, including four felony convictions involving other women. He was convicted of making terroristic threats against his then-pregnant girlfriend, and the same offense shortly after she gave birth. He also was convicted of third-degree assault and criminal damage to property against another woman. Lynch has pled guilty to second-degree intentional murder of Carolyn Leete and has received 32 years in prison.
Ashantai Nicole Finch
Age 32
Brooklyn Center
April 10, 2012
At the time of her murder Ashantai Finch was living with her sister, brother-in-law and their daughter. Finch’s boyfriend Dymond Hayden was also a living at the house. Finch was trying to end the relationship. An argument on April 10th turned fatal. Hayden pulled a gun and shot Finch, killing her. He then ran upstairs to Finch’s sister and brother-in-law claiming that the two had been playing with the gun when it went off and shot Finch. The police arrived and soon discovered that the ballistics did not match Hayden’s story. During the trial, Dymond Hayden pled guilty to third-degree murder. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Sharon Love
Age 38
Alexandria
April 18, 2012
On April 18, Sharon Love was meeting with her ex-boyfriend David Everett of rural Osakis so that he could retrieve some of his things from the apartment they shared in Alexandria. The meeting turned fatal when Everett attacked and killed Love at her home. After committing the crime Everett drove away from the scene. He was later found dead in his car, having committed suicide. Sharon Love died of multiple traumatic injuries, including strangulation, blunt force trauma, closed head trauma and sharp force injury. Love and Everett were reportedly going through a break up.
Kathleen Ponsness
Age 57
Lake Edward
April 30, 2012
On April 30, 2012, Kathleen Ponsness and her husband Kenneth Ponsness were found dead in the aftermath of a house fire. Investigators have found that Kathleen Ponsness was strangled prior to the house fire. The case has been ruled a murder-suicide. The couple is survived by their two adult children.
Lora Ann Wright
Age 45
St. Anthony
May 16, 2012
Lora Ann Wright was shot to death by her husband Sammie Wright in the front yard of their house. The same day as she was shot to death friends had confronted her about being in an abusive relationship. She had admitted to being in an abusive relationship and that her husband was becoming more controlling. She told her friend that she was going to file for a protection order if he did not change. When she came home that day, Sammie started an argument and then drew a gun. Sammie shot and killed Lora Ann Wright and then shot and killed himself. The couple’s 25-year-old son was also shot in the leg during the incident. The couple’s two other children a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old were also in the house at the time of the shooting.
Georgia Lynn Rogers
Age 42
Richfield
July 4, 2012
On July 4th Georgia Lynn Rogers died of injuries after an argument and struggle occurred between her and her boyfriend, Milton Ellery Geshick. When the police arrived they declared Rogers dead and arrested Geshick. Geshick was not charged with murder but he was charged with violating a no-contact order that Rogers had in place against Geshick.
Adelaida Sadd Lane
Age 26
Minneapolis
July 14, 2012
On July 14th, Adelaida Lane was shot to death by her boyfriend Giovanni Mario Dots. Adelaida was shot in the chest and left to die in North Minneapolis. Not much is known, but Dots is currently in custody after being on the run for several months. He is charged with second degree manslaughter and is awaiting trial.
Woynshet Woldemariam
Age 41
Apple Valley
July 14, 2012
Woynshet Woldemariam and her husband Anteneh Tesgaye were involved with various court procedures – protective orders, police calls, and custody proceedings. On paper Woynshet Woldemariam was identified as “the aggressor” of the relationship. She was charged with violating two orders of protection, arrested for hitting her husband and convicted on domestic abuse charges. Nevertheless, on July 14th Woldemariam was shot to death by her husband Anteneh Tsegaye in a parking lot outside of her home where she lived with the couple’s two children. Tsegaye then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. After the incident another story of their abusive relationship came out, the story of family and friends living close to the couple. It painted a picture of Woldemariam as the victim of emotional and physical abuse. Tsegaye took advantage of the system, recording Woldemariam’s statements and using them out of context to characterize her as the abusive partner. He also used their children to manipulated and abuse her, forcing her to have sex with him in order to see her children. This story has been confirmed by law enforcement officers who had previously worked with the couple. Woldemariam is survived by her two children, a 5 and 4 year-old.
Jennifer Smith
Age 27
Robbinsdale
September 14, 2012
Jennifer Smith was killed by an old acquaintance, Ronald West, who she had known for more than 10 years. The acquaintance was an old neighbor of the family and was supposed to be offering protection to Smith from her estranged boyfriend. Nevertheless, on September 14th West went over to Smith’s house with a gun. After shooting Smith several times he then turned the gun on himself. Jennifer’s five year old son found her body and ran to the next door neighbor for help. The case was ruled a murder-suicide and Smith is survived by three minor children now living with their grandparents.
Tensia Richard
Age 22
Cottage Grove
October 25, 2012
October 25, 2012, Tensia Richard was killed by her estranged husband, Chevel Richard. Tensia was attacked outside Anytime Fitness center in Cottage Grove, chased across the parking lot over to the Jimmy John’s restaurant where she tried to signal for help. Once inside, the restaurant employees ran and hid inside the freezer, leaving Tensia alone and helpless with her husband who then shot her to death. After killing his wife, Chevel then shot and killed himself. Chevel had a long history of domestic violence and in the past, Tensia had also taken a protective order against Chevel. Just two weeks before the incident Tensia had separated from her husband and was in the process of filing for a divorce. Tensia is survived by the couple’s two young sons.
Danielle Jelinek
Age 27
Oakdale
December 9, 2012
Danielle Jelinek, 27, last spoke to her family the afternoon of December 9, 2012, the same day she went missing. She said she was going to see a girlfriend, but instead went to meet former boyfriend Aaron Schnagl. He had allegedly physically abused Danielle Jelinek on several occasions and admitted to investigators he had struck her at least once. Danielle Jelinek’s body was recovered on May 10, 2013. On December 16, 2013, Aaron Schnagl, long suspected in her death, was indicted on a charge of her murder.
Rosemary Oberg-Johnson
Age 55
Grand Rapids
December 28, 2012
Rosemary Oberg-Johnson’s son’s girlfriend, S, was leaving a long-term abusive relationship with William Levi Payne. S had recently secured an order for protection against her estranged husband, William Levi Payne.. On December 22nd, Payne broke into the Oberg Johnson’s house where her son and S were also present and fired shots at Oberg-Johnson and her son and kidnapping S. Payne later called 911 using S’s phone and reported that he just killed two people and that law enforcement could come and pick him up. Oberg-Johnson died on December 28th from her injuries. Oberg-Johnson’s son was critically injured but survived. Payne is charged with murder in the second degree, attempted murder in first degree, felony kidnapping, first degree burglary, second degree assault, and violating an order for protection and is awaiting trial.