Woman sentenced to 20 years in murder of Minneapolis real estate agent
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A former Hennepin County probation officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday in connection with the 2019 killing of a Minneapolis real estate agent.
Elsa Segura, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping. She admitted to using a fake name and a burner phone to set up a house showing in Maple Grove with Monique Baugh. When Baugh arrived at the house, two other accomplices kidnapped and shot her.
Segura had previously been found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the crime. But earlier this year, the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned the conviction and sent her case back to district court, arguing that there wasn’t enough evidence that Segura knew what her co-defendants would do to Baugh after Segura arranged the fake house showing.
Tuesday’s guilty plea and sentencing means Segura’s case is over, after nearly five years that Baugh’s family said was a painful process.
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Monique’s mother Wanda Baugh told the court she wishes the previous harsher sentence still stood.
“Today is not a good day for me and my family,” Baugh said. “We were content knowing that she would spend the rest of her life in prison, as she should.”
Baugh was 28; she left behind two young daughters.
Segura was one of five people charged after Baugh was found dead in an alley in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2020.
According to prosecutors, the killing was planned by Lyndon Wiggins, Segura’s then-boyfriend. Prosecutors say he had a dispute with Baugh’s boyfriend, Jon Mitchell-Momoh. Wiggins is accused of directing Segura to set up the fake meeting with Baugh on the evening of Dec. 31, 2019. Two other defendants kidnapped and shot Baugh, and also shot her boyfriend, who survived his injuries.
Segura declined the chance to speak during Tuesday’s hearing. At one point, a family member of Baugh rose from her seat and moved towards Segura, yelling, “Do you understand what you did?” The family member departed the room shortly after, escorted by law enforcement officers.
Judge Mark Kappelhoff agreed to the sentence outlined in the plea deal.
“Your actions set in motion the kidnapping that ultimately led to the tragic and horrific death,” Kappelhoff said to Segura during sentencing. “I can only hope that your guilty plea this morning and the sentence I’m going to impose today will bring some sense of closure and maybe start some of the healing process for the loved ones of Miss Baugh.”
The 20-year sentence is longer than sentencing guidelines for kidnapping. The judge agreed to the higher sentence given the “particular cruelty” of the crime, and the involvement of several other defendants.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office struck a plea deal with Segura’s attorneys to avoid dragging out Segura’s case any longer.
“It was very difficult, I know, for the family to have this reopened,” Moriarty said.
The two defendants accused of kidnapping and killing Baugh — Cedric Berry and Berry Davis — are currently serving life sentences without parole for their involvement in the crime.
Another defendant, Shante Davis, was sentenced to parole for aiding an offender after the killing.
The Supreme Court also overturned the conviction of Wiggins, who prosecutors believe orchestrated the killing. He is due in court this week for a hearing.