From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Mar 19 2010 - 13:53:28 EST
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20100319/UPDATES/100319024/1001/news
Man gets 50 years in killing
John Hult • Argus Leader • March 19, 2010
A Sioux Falls man whose murder confession was thrown out over concerns about
his interpreter was sentenced to 50 years in prison Thursday for killing his
girlfriend.
Michaele Ashko Shimayil, 30, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in
December after Judge Larry Long threw out evidence from his police
interview. His interpreter, a native of Eritrea like Shimayil, spoke a
different dialect when explaining the right against self-incrimination to
the suspect.
Shimayil’s girlfriend, Bakita Mohammed, was found unconscious and covered in
blood on April 30, 2009. Shimayil had beaten her with a PVC pipe. Mohammed
died from her injuries on May 13, 2009.
On Thursday, Shimayil received the maximum sentence of 50 years for
first-degree manslaughter. Murder and rape charges were dropped in exchange
for his guilty plea.
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