Elsa Segura Sentenced To Life In Prison For Aiding In Killing Of Monique Baugh
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Hennepin County judge sentenced a former probation officer to life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the 2019 kidnapping and murder of realtor Monique Baugh.
Two men, Cedric Berry and Berry Davis, were also been sentenced to life in prison in the case. But it was 29-year-old Elsa Segura who set up the fake home showing in Maple Grove that lead to Baugh's death.
Judge Peter Cahill agreed Tuesday that Segura, of Fridley, was just as responsible in the killing. Earlier this year, a jury found her guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
According to a criminal criminal, Segura, lured Baugh to a house showing in Maple Grove on New Year's Eve of 2019. Baugh was then abducted by Berry and Davis, who placed her in the back of a U-Haul van. The U-Haul drove to Baugh's boyfriend's house, and a masked gunman entered the home and shot him multiple times.
Baugh's boyfriend later said he didn't know who would have shot him, but named 36-year-old Wiggins Lyndon Wiggins, Segura's boyfriend, as someone who wanted to harm him. Baugh's boyfriend said Wiggins did not know where he lived, but knew he was in a relationship with Baugh.
Shortly after 6 p.m. that night, shots were fired in the alley of 1300 Russell Avenue in Minneapolis. Baugh was shot three times and would later die from her injuries.
"How cruel and callous the defendant was to participate in a plan that resulted in the murder of a young woman. It is a tragedy beyond words, as two children have been left behind without their mother," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said, in a statement. "My sincere sympathies go out to the victim's family, friends and loved ones."
At the sentencing, Baugh's mother, Wanda Williams Baugh, said that Segura could have been a hero.
"Our honor, this defendant, she actually could have been a hero, she could have been a hero, she could have warned Monique," she said.
At the sentencing, prosecutors played a family video featuring pictures of Monique throughout her life. Williams Baugh says her daughter's 6-year-old recently told her that she wants to die.
"I said, 'No, baby, why would you say that?' Williams Baugh said. "And she said, 'Because I want to see my mommy.'"
Throughout the sentencing proceeding, Segura showed no emotion and did not address the court. As a teen, she survived the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
Baugh's mother said that Segura does not deserve another chance.
"I'm asking that she get life without parole," Williams Baugh said. "No more chances."
The judge agreed, sentencing Segura to the same life without parole sentence as Berry and Davis.
The Baugh family will have to sit through two more trials in this case. The first will be for Wiggins, a convicted drug dealer who is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. The second trial will be for Shante Davis, who is the wife of Berry and the sister of Davis.
Prosecutors say a fall out between Monique's boyfriend and one of the defendants lead to the murder.
