Murdered Woman’s Car Found in Casino Parking Lot During Manhunt: Lucifer Apprehended
(Associated Press) - A man suspected of killing a Minnesota financial adviser in her office over the weekend was charged with murder Monday, as authorities warned the public that he remained on the run and should be considered armed and dangerous. Scroll Down For More…
Lucifer Nguyen, 44, of New Hope, is charged in Saturday's killing of 48-year-old Beverly Cory, who was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
Nguyen also faces aggravated robbery, burglary and kidnapping charges after a series of events that began with a home invasion and armed holdup at a nearby home and ended with Nguyen killing Cory as he was running from police and fleeing in her car, according to a criminal complaint.
Police have said there is no known connection between Nguyen and Cory, who lived in Maplewood.
Nguyen still could be in the Twin Cities metro area, authorities said, adding that he might be on foot, taking public transportation or asking others for rides.
According to the criminal complaint, Nguyen approached the front door of a home in the St. Paul suburb of Mendota Heights on Saturday morning and asked the woman who lived there if it was the "Miller" residence. The woman said it was not and Nguyen drove away.
But Nguyen returned a short time later while the woman was in her bedroom with her 2-year-old grandchild. He came in, showed a gun and demanded cash — leaving with money and the woman's wallet, according to the complaint.
As police were responding to the home invasion, officers saw Nguyen's car. He sped away and crashed in a pond, the complaint said. Officers then got a report that a man with a gun forced his way into a nearby senior care center.
A woman employed there told police that Nguyen forced her into the laundry room at gunpoint and took her work keys, the complaint said.
Mendota Heights police Chief Kelly McCarthy has said that at the time, police believed they were dealing with a potential hostage situation and they began evacuating the center. No one at the facility was injured.
As officers were helping residents leave the center, someone called to report that a substance appearing to be blood was seeping out from underneath an office door in a building across the street, the criminal complaint said. SWAT officers entered that building and found Cory dead inside. An autopsy showed she died from a single gunshot to the head, according to the complaint.
Police then discovered that Cory's car was missing. It was found Sunday at the Washington County Fairgrounds, about 16 miles (26 kilometers) away. A man who lives near the fairgrounds told police that Nguyen approached him around 11 a.m. Saturday and asked for a ride to a nearby casino. The man declined.
About 2½ hours later, Nguyen bought a cellphone at a Walmart about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the fairgrounds, the complaint said.
