HASTINGS, Minn. - A Brooklyn Park man stands charged with murder in connection with the stabbing death of his pregnant girlfriend.
Two charges of second-degree murder with intent were filed in Dakota County Court Thursday against 23-year-old Vern Jason Mouelle, accused in a fatal attack that ended two lives. Prosecutors say Mouelle used a pocket knife to kill 25-year-old Senicha Marie Lessman, and the 32-week old son she was carrying.
Police were called to Lessman's Eagan townhome Tuesday afternoon after the victim's mother came to check on her and found Lessman laying in her bedroom naked, unconscious and unresponsive with a bloody cloth stuffed in her mouth. Officers noted what appeared to be a knife wound to her neck. First responders attempted life-saving measures but were unsuccessful.
The victim's mother told detectives that Mouelle was the father of Lessman's unborn child. A neighbor described an SUV that was parked in the driveway earlier that day, and a records search revealed that a truck matching the description was registered to Mouelle's mother.
Squads were dispatched to the defendant's workplace in Mounds View, where they found both him and the vehicle. Mouelle denied being at the Eagan townhome that day. Investigators executed a search warrant on the SUV and found a receipt for a pocket knife that had been purchased earlier that day, empty packaging for the knife, Lessman's cell phone, a bloody trash can and blood-soaked women's clothing. Mouelle was immediately taken into custody.
A second search warrant served on the home of the defendant's family ended with the discovery of a bloody pocket knife in his dresser.
“This was a violent attack that has resulted in the senseless and tragic deaths of a young woman and her unborn child," Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom said in a written statement. "Our deepest sympathy is expressed to the family and friends of Senicha Lessman.”
Mouelle made his first court appearance Thursday and bail of $2 million (without conditions) was set by District Court Judge Kathryn Messerich.