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Insets from left: Fanta Xayavong (GoFundMe). Manijeh Starren (GoFundMe). Joseph Steven Jorgenson (Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office). Background: One of the storage units where police discovered human remains (WCCO).
A Minnesota man pleaded guilty this week to killing and dismembering two missing women with whom he had been in relationships and hiding their remains in storage units in separate cases.
Joseph Jorgenson, 41, admitted on Thursday to second-degree murder in the deaths of Fanta Xayavong, 33, and Manijeh “Mani” Starren, 34. Jorgenson faces up to 40 years in prison for each of the killings.
He described the killings in court, local ABC affiliate KSTP reported.
Jorgenson said he and Xayavong had been living together in a townhome in September 2021 when he beat her during an argument. At one point, he thought she went unconscious but when he checked her, he said he realized she was dead. He said he dismembered her body and hid her remains in a storage unit, the station reported.
“I felt bad about [the murder] immediately afterward, but it was my intent at the time to kill her,” he told the judge Thursday about that killing.
Jorgenson said he killed Starren during an argument when she asked him to leave her apartment. He choked her, then dismembered her body with a razor blade. He hid the remains at his apartment before taking them to a different storage unit from the one where he stored Starren’s remains.
The events leading to the discoveries of the remains began when Starren’s family had lost contact with her and reported her missing to the Saint Paul Police Department. The mother of three was reported missing after her family hadn’t heard from her since April 21, 2023, when police said she was last seen in video surveillance with Jorgensen outside her apartment.
The video showed her running from her apartment and Jorgenson catching up to her, grabbing her, and pushing her back into her apartment, court documents said.
“Jorgenson is the only one that comes out of that unit, and Mani is never seen again,” Saint Paul Sgt. Mike Ernster said in a news conference. “He did not report her missing to police. Instead, he just went on with his life without saying anything to anyone.”
That June, a search warrant was executed at Jorgenson’s home. During the search, Jorgenson started a fire and attempted to disarm officers before being arrested on unrelated charges. Days later, police were led to a storage facility in Woodbury, Minnesota. There, officers discovered dismembered remains in two coolers and a duffel bag in a unit, according to an affidavit that detailed the sickening discovery. The remains were later identified as those belonging to Starren.
While investigating Starren’s case, authorities discovered Xayavong’s remains in a separate storage unit about 35 miles away from the storage facility where Starren’s remains were found. Jorgenson was named as a person of interest in that case.
Police believe the victim was last seen with Jorgenson, as Law&Crime reported.
Police said the discovery of Xayavong’s remains came from a tip from a concerned citizen who knew her and was concerned for her welfare. The person reported that she had been in an abusive relationship with Jorgensen and had lost contact with her.
Xayavong was also a mom with two children.
“She was such a beautiful soul, and gave selflessly when it came to others,” her GoFundMe said. “Her vibrant smile would light up the room when she entered.”
Jorgenson is set to be sentenced on Feb. 28.
