Prosecutors say surveillance video, a roommate’s account and an arrest 200 miles away helped investigators build the case.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A dispute over a $65-a-month parking garage contract preceded the fatal shooting of three workers inside a St. Paul apartment leasing office, according to prosecutors, who have charged tenant Tsegaab Ademassu Binessu with three counts of second-degree intentional murder.

The July 20 killings at Davern Park Apartments began, investigators say, with what appeared to be an ordinary question about a parking agreement. Binessu, 30, had recently sold his vehicle and wanted to stop paying for his garage space. Apartment staff told investigators that he had renewed the contract and could not simply cancel it. Charging documents say he told an employee by phone that he would come to the office to discuss the decision in person. By shortly after 4 p.m., police were receiving calls about screams and gunfire at the property on the 1500 block of St. Paul Avenue.

Officers entered the leasing office and found three employees dead. The Ramsey County medical examiner identified them as Nansi G. Fuentes Zambrano, 25, of Inver Grove Heights; Dena M. Silcox, 56, of St. Paul; and Adam J. Wilwerding, 43, of Oakdale. Wilwerding and Silcox were found in the front portion of the office, while Fuentes Zambrano was found farther back. Prosecutors say the office’s security system recorded much of what happened, giving investigators a visual record that became a central part of the criminal complaint filed the following day.

According to the complaint, video showed Binessu speaking with Wilwerding before pulling a handgun from his waistband. Wilwerding raised his hands before he was shot multiple times, investigators said. Binessu then allegedly turned toward Silcox and fired at her. Prosecutors say he later moved down a hallway and out of the camera’s view. A woman could be heard screaming before more gunshots were recorded. Investigators believe Fuentes Zambrano was trying to escape through a window when she was shot. Police reported recovering 21 spent 9 mm cartridge casings inside the leasing office.

The allegations did not rest on video alone. A man who said he had lived with Binessu since 2018 contacted police and reported that Binessu had told him about the killings, according to the complaint. The roommate said Binessu had worked as a truck driver but had quit about two months earlier and was considering joining the U.S. Navy. He said Binessu planned to sell his vehicle and speak with management about ending the parking agreement. After returning from the office, the roommate told investigators, Binessu said he had argued with management and had killed three people.

The roommate’s call also gave police another account of Binessu’s movements after the shootings. According to court documents, Binessu initially said he planned to walk to a police station. Authorities instead found him later that night in Virginia, Minnesota, roughly 200 miles north of St. Paul. He was driving Fuentes Zambrano’s 2017 Chrysler 300, investigators said. Officers reported finding Binessu’s U.S. passport, Social Security card, an empty handgun magazine, a permit to carry a firearm and what appeared to be recently purchased camping equipment inside the vehicle.

The location and the vehicle added another strand to the case. Fuentes Zambrano’s boyfriend had approached police at the crime scene and told officers he feared she was among the victims, according to the complaint. He also told investigators that her Chrysler was missing. Authorities later located Binessu behind the wheel of that vehicle in northern Minnesota. The complaint does not establish that the parking-contract disagreement was the only factor behind the shootings, and prosecutors must prove the criminal charges in court rather than simply show that an argument occurred before the killings.

After his arrest, Binessu spoke with investigators about difficulties in his personal life and his frustrations with what he described as the American system, according to the complaint. He discussed a lengthy effort to bring family members from Ethiopia to the United States and said the immigration process had contributed to the end of his marriage. Those statements provide context for investigators’ account, but authorities have not established them as an independent legal motive for the killings. When detectives asked Binessu directly about what happened inside the leasing office, court records say he requested an attorney.

The people killed in the office had day-to-day roles that made them familiar faces to residents. Silcox had spent nearly a decade working at the property and was remembered by relatives as a mother of four who loved music and played piano. Wilwerding, known to residents as A.J., handled maintenance work and was remembered for taking time to help tenants with repairs. Fuentes Zambrano worked as a leasing agent and frequently helped Spanish-speaking residents communicate with management. Their work often put them directly across a desk from tenants seeking help with leases, maintenance and other routine problems.

That familiarity shaped the response after the shootings. About 100 people gathered at the apartment complex for a vigil the next evening, carrying flowers and candles and listening as bagpipes played “Amazing Grace.” Residents and relatives described the three workers not through the circumstances of their deaths but through the ordinary help they had provided. Silcox’s family spoke about her devotion to her children and her enjoyment of working with people. Wilwerding’s relatives described him as deeply attached to his family. Fuentes Zambrano’s family remembered a young woman who cared for relatives and brought people together.

The case moved quickly into Ramsey County District Court. Prosecutors filed three counts of second-degree intentional murder, one for each death. Binessu made his first court appearance July 22 and was appointed a public defender. A judge set bail at $10 million. Second-degree intentional murder in Minnesota does not require prosecutors to prove premeditation, but the state must still establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Binessu intentionally caused the deaths alleged in each count. The accusations in the complaint remain allegations unless proved in court.

The triple killing also became part of St. Paul’s homicide count for 2026, with local authorities identifying the deaths as the city’s ninth, 10th and 11th homicides of the year at the time. Police continued handling the case through the department’s homicide unit with assistance from forensic and video investigators. No additional suspect was identified in the police material made public after the shootings. The most recent reliable public reporting reviewed for this story does not establish a final disposition of the charges, so the case remains a pending criminal matter rather than a finding of guilt.

Author note: Last updated August 26, 2026.