Search Continues For Suspected Mendota Heights Killer; Victim ID'd
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. (WCCO) -- A manhunt continues for a suspected killer police say is armed and dangerous. He's been at large for over 24 hours.
Authorities are trying to find 44-year-old Lucifer Nguyen. They say he's responsible for an armed robbery and possibly shot and killed a woman in an incident hours later.
It all began Saturday morning with a woman being robbed in her home on Delaware Avenue in Mendota Heights.
Police chased the suspect vehicle, the chase ending with a suspect running away, briefly taking refuge in a nearby senior center.
And then, across from that center a woman was shot at an office building.
Officers say Nguyen left his car behind before running to the senior center and office building. The woman found dead has been identified by her family as Beverly Cory.
As for the search for Nguyen, officers say they are actively searching -- and we could tell people in the area are understandably on edge.
Mendota Police say they have several leads but won't get into details. They did want to make clear Nguyen did not know Beverly Cory so this does appear to be random.
Here's a recap:
A quiet Saturday morning turned into a weekend of chaos. Friends say a grandmother was baby-sitting when she was robbed at gunpoint.
Officers quickly spotted Lucifer Nguyen's car and chased him until he crashed into a pond and made a run for it making his way through a senior living home.
Soon after a woman is found dead in a nearby office building. That woman her family says is a beloved financial advisor, Beverly Cory.
One client calls her quiet and kind. The town who lost her is shaken up.
Neil Garlock is the mayor of Mendota Heights.
"I think it makes us feel we're vulnerable at any time," he said.
Just a few miles from the crime scene, the mayor and others mark the site of the town's last murder scene with their annual memorial.
Three years ago Sunday, Mendota Heights Officer Scott Patrick was killed here while making a traffic stop.
The mayor is a former officer and worked closely with Officer Scott.
"When they lost Scott they lost one of their own and then yesterday just drives it home again," Garlock said.
The mayor says Officer Scott's loss is still fresh and the pain of Beverly Cory's loss just beginning.
"Mendota Heights, usually known for having about the lowest crime rate in the metro area, but here we are we've had two homicides," Garlock said.
If you see him, remember he may be armed, stay away and call 911.
Cory's employer, Edward Jones, released a statement Sunday night.
"We're shocked and saddened by the news that one of our financial advisors, Bev Cory, was senselessly killed Saturday morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this tragic time. Naturally, we are cooperating with law enforcement in the ongoing investigation to apprehend her killer."