A Maplewood man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Friday for murdering two women and dismembering their bodies in a span of two years.
Joseph Steven Jorgenson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro gave Joseph Steven Jorgenson, 41, the maximum statutory sentence for the killings of Fanta Xayavong, 33, in Shoreview in 2021 and Manijeh “Mani” Starren, 33, in St. Paul in 2023.
“What you did cannot be explained,” Castro told Jorgenson. “What you did was pure evil.”
Jorgenson had been in relationships with both women.
Law enforcement found their remains at storage facilities in 2023: Starren in Woodbury and Xayavong in Coon Rapids.
The cases came to light after Starren’s father reported her missing from St. Paul in 2023. Law enforcement learned during their investigation that Xayavong hadn’t been seen since 2021.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Jorgenson with Starren’s murder June 2023 and charged him with Xayavong’s murder on Jan. 2. He pleaded guilty to intentional murder of both women and agreed to two 40-year prison terms, to be served at the same time.
Manijeh “Mani” Starren, left, and Fanta Xayavong (Courtesy photos)
Based on state sentencing guidelines, a mid-range sentence would have been about 25½ years. The 40-year sentences are the statutory maximum for second-degree intentional murder and upward departures due to three aggravating factors in each case: that Jorgenson killed a romantic partner, that it happened in the victim’s home in each case, and that he dismembered the body in an attempt to hide what he’d done.
This is a breaking news story; check back for updates.
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