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Vigil set for St. Paul family who suffered 4 deaths in house fire
According to a GoFundMe, their mother is in critical condition.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul neighbors will come together Saturday to host a vigil for the Vang family, after they lost four children following a house fire.
The community vigil will occur Saturday, Jan. 13 from 1-3 p.m. at the American Indian Magnet School in St. Paul. If you wish to donate to the family bring items to the vigil. Suggested donations include kitchen items, toys and clothes for the surviving children (sizes 3T and 4T for girls and 6T and 7T for boys).
A 1-year-old boy, Muaj Vang, died on the night of Jan. 6. He was preceded by his 4-year-old brother and twin 5-year-old sisters, police said.
At a news conference Jan. 6, Pa Cheng Vang, the children’s father, said he was grateful for the community’s support since the fire broke out early on Jan. 3. He was at work at the time.
The other three children killed by the fire were identified as 5-year-old twin girls Sivntxhi Vang and Ntshiab Si Vang, and a 4-year-old boy, Muaj Tshav Ntaj Vang. Sivntxhi died on Jan. 3. Officials and the family announced the three other deaths the following weekend.
The children’s 28-year-old mother remains hospitalized in critical condition, Vang said. She is at high risk of not surviving, according to a post on a GoFundMe created by the family. Two other children also remain hospitalized, but their conditions have improved.
A GoFundMe established for the Vangs has far exceeded the goal of $350,000 as of Tuesday morning, with more than $465,000 donated for funeral expenses. If you wish to donate, click here. The family also has a fundraiser on PayPal under the account name pacheng.lvang2017@gmail.com.
“So I highly encourage every single family, at least a quarter or a semester, to start practice fire drills often, especially in the middle of the night,” Vang said on Saturday. “Yeah, at least teach them, teach your kids even test a just a drill practice at home, learn how to call 911.”
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joined the family at the news conference, saying he knew the couple and their children because Vang’s wife, Ker Lor, had previously interned in his office.
“You’ve endured all of our worst nightmares,” the mayor said.
When the fire broke out on Wednesday, Jan. 3, fire crews were sent to the home on the 1200 block of Arkwright St. N just after 1:31 a.m.
Firefighters entered the burning structure and located seven victims on the main level. Deputy Chief Mokosso said the victims were unconscious when they were pulled from the home, and paramedics immediately performed CPR on all of them before they were rushed to the hospital.
The homeowner, Vang, told KARE 11 he was at work when the fire started and confirmed that his wife and six children were inside.
The cause of the fire was accidental, but it remains under investigation, Mokosso said. The home had working smoke detectors.
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The letter penned by Lakes Area Vineyard lead pastor Troy Easton said Beau Shroyer of Detroit Lakes was “killed in an act of violence while serving Jesus” in Angola.
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — The leader of a church in northwestern Minnesota announced in a letter to his congregation that one of its members was killed during a Christian mission trip to Africa.
The letter penned by Lakes Area Vineyard lead pastor Troy Easton said Beau Shroyer of Detroit Lakes was “killed in an act of violence while serving Jesus” in Angola, and that many details about Shroyer’s death are still unknown.
“At this point, there are many details about what’s happened that are still unknown, however, we have been in contact with his wife Jackie, and are doing what we can to come alongside them in this shocking and awful time,” the pastor’s letter said.
According to Easton, Shroyer and his wife shared five children.
Arrangements to celebrate Shroyer’s life are still uncertain, the letter read, but Easton said the church will share updates with the public when more information becomes available.
Easton’s letter indicates Shroyer was in Africa with SIM USA, an organization long involved in “cross-cultural missions.”
Investigators say 27-year-old Mayan Deng Mayan shot a man following an argument at the unlicensed party at an Uptown business.
MINNEAPOLIS — A man will serve a sentence of more than 34 years in prison after pleading guilty in a fatal shooting at an after-hours party in Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says 27-year-old Mayan Deng Mayan was sentenced to 414 months, or 34 1/2 years in prison for the murder, which took place outside an Uptown Minneapolis business that was holding an after-bar party the morning of Sept. 18, 2022.
Police were dispatched to the Fade Barber Shop on the 1600 block of Harmon Place just before 5:30 a.m. and found 28-year-old Birahim Gildersleve of Rochester suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds.
Gildersleve was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center but did not survive.
Investigators learned the shooting followed a verbal argument outside the party and used surveillance video and a license plate reader to identify Mayan as the shooter. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder.
“Mr. Mayan took the life of Birahim Gildersleve and in doing so, devastated Mr. Gildersleve’s loved ones and damaged a community,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “There is no sentence that can repair the harm, but today’s sentence delivers accountability for Mr. Mayan and is in the interest of public safety.”
Mayan will be credited for 585 days already served.
BCA Special Agent Joe Swenson told jurors that Maddi Kingsbury’s remains were hidden by brush and logs 6 to 10 feet long and appeared to be there “on purpose.”
MANKATO, Minn. — BCA Special Agent Joe Swenson was the first witness called Monday morning, the 8th day of testimony in the 1st-degree murder trial of Adam Fravel for the death of Maddi Kingsbury, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his two children.
Swenson, based in Rochester, took the stand and testified about arriving at the scene where Maddi’s remains were found inside a culvert on June 7, 2023. He recalled that the remains were so hidden that he couldn’t tell where the Fillmore Co. Deputy was pointing until they started moving logs and brush.
The BCA agent described some of the logs in the ditch as being 6-10 feet long and “the size of older wooden powerlines, 6-inches across.”
“It certainly appeared the logs were placed there on purpose,” Swenson said.
Then prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz questioned Agent Swenson about discoveries made during an April 27, 2023, search of the Rochester home Fravel and Kingsbury shared. Jurors were shown photos inside the garage as Agent Swenson testified about finding a roll a roll of black Gorilla duct tape, which seemed to match the tape wrapped around Maddi’s body.
Swenson told the courtroom he also found Wyze-brand surveillance cameras in the garage, which had been taken down from inside the townhome and were not operational on the day investigators believe Maddi was killed.
