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Inset: Monique Baugh (Estes Funeral Chapel). Background: Lyndon Wiggins at his trial in the death of Baugh (KMSP).
In Minnesota, prosecutors have successfully convicted the last of four defendants involved in a sinister scheme to abduct a real estate agent under the guise of a property showing, ultimately leading to her murder in an alley after being held in the back of a U-Haul.
On Monday, a jury found Lyndon Wiggins, aged 40, guilty of several charges, including aiding or abetting first-degree murder, attempted murder, kidnapping with intent to inflict great bodily harm, and first-degree murder during the commission of a kidnapping. Wiggins, along with three accomplices, deceived 28-year-old real estate agent Monique Baugh into attending a fake house viewing on New Year’s Eve 2019, which ended in her tragic death.
This conviction marks Wiggins’ second, following a retrial mandated by the Minnesota Supreme Court due to an error in the original jury instructions, which also affected his girlfriend and co-defendant.
The plot stemmed from a dispute between Wiggins and Baugh’s boyfriend, who were both involved in a record label. As part of the plan, Wiggins instructed his girlfriend, Elsa Segura, to impersonate a potential buyer named “Lisa Powalski” using a disposable phone to lure Baugh.
On December 31, 2019, when Baugh—a mother of two—arrived for the supposed showing, she was met not by a client, but by Cedric Berry, now 47, and Berry Davis, now 46. The pair restrained her with duct tape and forced her into the U-Haul van, sealing her fate.
“After about 2 ½ hours, the men eventually drove to Baugh’s home in Minneapolis, where J.M.-M. [the victim’s boyfriend] was watching the couple’s two children, and shot J.M.-M. several times,” documents said. “Berry and Davis later shot Baugh in an alley in Minneapolis. J.M.-M. survived his injuries, but Baugh died from her gunshot wounds.”
Berry and Davis were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Before her new trial, Segura, a former probation officer, pleaded guilty last year to kidnapping to commit great bodily harm. A judge sentenced her to 20 years behind bars.
But Baugh’s family was none too pleased that Segura went from a life sentence to two decades.
“She sits in there, and she figured out how to get shorter time,” Lucille Baugh, the victim’s aunt, told local Fox affiliate KMSP through tears. “She should feel that for the rest of her life. Her family should feel it for the rest of her life.”
“Not one time … you apologize,” she added. “Not once, but you can sit, and you can figure out how to get your time cut short. That’s not acceptable.”
Wiggins will be sentenced to life in prison on Nov. 13.
“Monique Baugh’s family has waited nearly six years for the cases against all defendants to conclude,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “Mr. Wiggins played a primary role in Monique’s death, and he is being held accountable. My thoughts are with Monique’s family, and I want to express my gratitude to the jury for their service and to our trial team for securing this conviction.”