Ethiopian man gets 32 years in prison for killing sister

MINNEAPOLIS (Star Tribune) — A 25-year-old Richfield, Minnesota, resident will spend at least 32 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to killing his sister and assaulting her infant.

Guuci Beyena Mekonnen, an Ethiopia native, entered his plea last week and was sentenced by Hennepin County Judge Tanya Bransford on Monday to a sentence determined by the plea deal.

If he had gone to trial and been convicted of first-degree murder, Mokonnen could have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.

On May 2, Richfield police responded to a call about a woman lying in the parking lot at 734 E. 78th St. near the Buena Vista Apartments. The woman, who was on her back, had a slash across her throat and bled heavily. In her arms was an 8-month-old infant, the complaint against Mokonnen said.

While investigators were at the scene, police received a 911 call from the Mall of America transit stop from a man who said he had killed his sister. Police went there and arrested Guuci Mokonnen, according to the complaint.

Mokonnen told police he was angry at his sister for not allowing him to live with her. He said he was homeless and unemployed and had thought about killing her for three years. He said he took a knife from his brother’s apartment to kill her.

Mokonnen received 30 years for killing his sister and three years for threatening the baby. The sentences are to be served consecutively.

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