Photo: St. Paul Police Department/Mani Nicole Facebook
The body of a Minnesota mother who was reported missing was found dismembered two months later inside a storage unit last week, leading to her boyfriend being charged with murder, the St. Paul Police Department confirmed in a news release.
Joseph S. Jorgenson, 40, of Maplewood, was charged with one count of second-degree murder in relation to the death of Maijeh 'Mani' Starren, 33, at her St. Paul apartment in April after the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office identified her remains on June 29 and ruled her death as a homicide. Jorgenson was arrested on June 26 after starting a fire, fighting with SWAT team officers and attempting to disarm them during a search of the apartment, which resulted in two officers experiencing minor injuries.
Security footage obtained by FOX News showed Jorgenson pursue, grab and force Starren back inside the apartment after she attempted to flee on April 21 at around 6:00 p.m., which was the last time she was seen alive.
“Jorgenson is the only one that comes out of that unit, and Mani is never seen again,” St. Paul Sgt. Mike Ernster said during a press conference last Friday (June 30). “He did not report her missing to police. Instead, he just went on with his life without saying anything to anyone.”
Starren's family filed a missing persons report on May 1 and told authorities that she was "afraid" of Jorgenson and seemed to be paranoid when they had last spoken with her. A police affidavit stats that Starren told the father of her son that Jorgenson had previously wrapped a rope around her neck and that she had attempted to flee the apartment when "things got out of hand."
Neighbors also reported seeing the woman with a black eye and visible red marks on her throat prior to her death.