Charges: Brooklyn Park Man Stabbed Pregnant Eagan Woman To Death
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 23-year-old Brooklyn Park man is facing murder charges after an Eagan woman was found stabbed to death in her home on Tuesday, according to charges filed in Dakota County Court.
The woman, identified as Senicha Lessman, was 32 weeks pregnant. Vern Mouelle has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder with intent in connection with the case, both for Lessman's death and the unborn baby. Authorities say Mouelle was in a relationship with Lessman.
According to a criminal complaint, Eagan police were called to a residence at about 2:53 p.m. on a report of an unconscious pregnant female. When officers arrived, they found Lessman lying on the bedroom floor of the residence naked and unconscious. Authorities saw a knife wound on her neck. Lessman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The complaint states she died of a severed carotid artery and obstructed airway. An autopsy confirmed we was pregnant.
Officers spoke with Lessman's mother at the scene. She said she had spoken with her daughter late that morning and drove to her home to take her to a doctor's appointment. When she arrived, there were no vehicles in the driveway and she found Lessman lying naked on the bedroom floor. Her mother observed a white, bloody cloth in her mouth.
The complaint states Lessman's mother told police Mouelle is the father of the unborn child. Two concerned citizens told police they saw a gold SUV parked at Lessman's residence from 1:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. that day. The SUV was trace back to Mouelle's mother. His father told police that he used the vehicle regularly, and officers later found Mouelle and the vehicle at his work.
According to the complaint, officers executed a search warrant of the vehicle and located a store receipt for a pocket knife purchase that day, empty store packaging for a knife, Lessman's cell phone, a bloody trash can and bloody women's clothing. Officers also executed a search warrant at the home of Mouelle's parents, where he lived. There, they found a pocket knife with suspected blood on it in a dresser drawer in Mouelle's room.
If convicted, Mouelle faces up to 80 years in prison.
