http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/26049688/1000-reward-do-you-know-this-woman$1,000
REWARD: Do you know this woman?
*Posted: Jul 17, 2014 10:57 PM EDT *<em
class="wnDate">Thursday, July 17, 2014 10:57 PM
EDT</em>*Updated: Jul 18, 2014 7:50 AM EDT *<em
class="wnDate">Friday, July 18, 2014 7:50 AM EDT</em>
video report by Maury Glover
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -
It's been nearly a year since a student studying computer engineering at
Inver Hills Community College was shot to death and dumped in a Shoreview,
Minn. parking lot, but investigators are hoping they are close to a break
in the case.
So far, police say their leads have led them to dead ends; however, a new
video is renewing hope that they could be close to identifying a person of
interest in the death of Hagos Melake.
"Really caring, loving," Wainy Melake described. "All his friends loved
him."
The Melake family moved to Minnesota from the east African country of
Eritrea in the early 1990s in search of a better life. When Wainy Melake
graduated from high school last year, her big brother put his old cap and
gown on to pose for a family photo. Unfortunately, things have been far
from picture perfect for the Melakes lately.
"Losing someone that close -- I've never lost someone like losing my other
half," she reflected. "Life is really changing and he's instantly gone."
Now, investigators are hoping to find a mysterious woman who was caught on
camera with a key piece of evidence in the student's death. According to
police, Hagos Melake left the Hunan Garden Restaurant in downtown St. Paul
at about 1:30 a.m. on the morning of Aug. 29 with two men he'd met there
just minutes before.
A few hours later, police found his body in an upscale neighborhood in
Shoreview. He had been fatally shot, and did not have any identification on
him. A couple of hours before police discovered his body there, a woman is
seen on surveillance video using his ATM card at a bank near Emerson and
West Broadway in north Minneapolis, taking cash from his account.
"We believe this individual is someone who had a relationship or knowledge
of people who Melake left the bar with," Undersheriff Jack Serier said. "We
don't believe she's a suspect or that she did anything, but we assume she
had a relationship or knowledge of them in order to come into possession of
that ATM card."
Yet, even though investigators have put her picture on flyers and handed
them out to dozens of businesses in the area, they haven't been able to
identify her in the last 10 and a half months.
"Hard -- he was my friend, my first son," Tsegay Melake told Fox 9 News.
"Not like dad and son. We share everything. He never hid what was happening
to him."
A few days before he died, Hagos Melake sent a letter to his little sister
to wish her well as she started college classes at North Dakota State
University. Now, she says finding the people who took him from their family
would be the best way to thank him.
"Just coming out and telling us what happened would mean the world," she
said. "Just putting us all at peace. No anger, just going on with our
lives. That's all we really need."
*Crimestoppers is now offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads
to the woman in the video, and tips can be made anonymously. Those who have
information are urged to call the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office at
651-767-0640.*
Received on Fri Jul 18 2014 - 11:31:31 EDT