SAINT PAUL, Minn. — A violent, mentally ill man who was released by the state back into the community was found guilty last week of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend, 21-year-old Abigail Simpson.
Terrion Sherman, 27, had a history of violent crimes before the murder, but he would become known as a “gap case” in Minnesota.
He was too mentally ill to stand trial and found incompetent for his previous crimes. Though he was civilly committed to the care of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), the agency sent Sherman to a group home that offered inadequate treatment and supervision.
KARE 11 detailed his case as part of its series, “The Gap: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect.”
Prosecutors say Sherman was at Simpson’s apartment in February 2020 when, during an apparent psychotic rage, he repeatedly stabbed and beat her to death. In finding Sherman guilty of two counts of second-degree murder, Ramsey County Judge Kellie Charles found that he killed Simpson with particular cruelty.
Court documents say Sherman stabbed Simpson with a knife 32 times and bashed head into a radiator.
Judge Charles noted that when police found Simpson, she was naked and “the only thing that covered her were bruises and her own blood.”
“Abigail Simpson’s once beautiful face was found unrecognizable,” the judge wrote.
Responding police also found Sherman’s 2-year-old nephew standing next to Simpson.
Sherman's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 24.
Following KARE 11's extensive reporting on gap cases, the Minnesota legislature passed numerous reforms meant to better treat mentally ill criminal suspects while protecting the public.
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