MINNEAPOLIS — A former probation officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of a plea deal Tuesday, allowing her to avoid a second trial in the kidnapping and murder of real estate agent Monique Baugh.  

Elsa Segura sat expressionless at Tuesday’s sentencing after pleading guilty to one count of kidnapping to commit great bodily harm. As part of her plea deal, Segura took responsibility for her role in Baugh’s death, admitting she used a fake name and a “burner” phone to set up a house showing so a rival of Baugh’s boyfriend and his friends could kidnap and kill her. 

Hennepin County District Court Judge Mark Kappelhoff handed down a sentence of 240 months (12 years), giving Segura credit for 1,499 days already served. “You could have been the person to warn Ms. Baugh not to go to that showing,” Kappelhoff told the court. “But instead, you chose another path that eventually led to Monique Baugh’s death.”

KARE 11’s Lou Raguse says before the sentencing, a tribute video was playing in the courtroom when one of Baugh’s family members began shouting at the defendant. “She doesn’t understand what she’s done… I want to hear her say it!” the woman shouted before court security led the woman from the courtroom. She was allowed to re-enter five minutes later, and the judge called her loss of composure “completely understandable and appropriate.”

Segura declined the opportunity to speak in court. 

Tuesday’s plea hearing eliminated the need for a second trial for Segura after the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned two convictions and the accompanying life sentence after finding prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence and gave the jury erroneous instructions. Segura remained behind bars, however, as two other convictions involving the kidnapping-murder plot stood. 

In the early hours of Jan. 1, 2020, Baugh was found shot to death in a Minneapolis alley. Three other defendants were sentenced to life without parole in what prosecutors said was a scheme aimed at getting revenge against Baugh’s boyfriend, Jon Mitchell-Momoh, a recording artist who had a falling out with Lydon Wiggins, a former music business associate of his. who was also a drug dealer. 

Baugh’s boyfriend, who Wiggins allegedly considered a snitch, was also shot but survived.

Investigators say Baugh was lured to a home she was selling in Maple Grove after Segura repeatedly called and texted her, indicating she was interested in the home. Instead, Baugh was kidnapped and taken to her home in Minneapolis. Her boyfriend was shot in front of her children, at that time ages 1 and 3. 

Baugh was later found fatally shot and dumped in a nearby alley.  

Lyndon Wiggens, considered by prosecutors as the mastermind of the plot, was also granted a retrial based on the same issue involving “aiding and abetting” that caused the Supreme Court to overturn Segura’s convictions. He will be in court later this week to either plead guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting first-degree murder or indicate he will move toward a second trial. 

MINNEAPOLIS — Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity will soon kick off the 2024 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, a weeklong homebuilding event. 

The project will run from Sunday, Sept. 29, through Friday, Oct. 4, and is the official launch of Twin Cities Habitat’s construction efforts on The Heights housing development on St. Paul’s Greater East Side. 

The Carter Work Project occurs over President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday (Oct. 1).

It will be hosted by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who will build alongside more than 4,000 volunteers across Minnesota and the country. 

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity will also host a public celebration for the Carter Work Project and to honor President Jimmy Carter’s birthday at the Build Forward Bash on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at The Armory. 

CEO of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, Chris Coleman, joined KARE 11 News at Noon to discuss all the events.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Search efforts continue for a Minnesota native who is missing after embarking on a hike in Yellowstone. 

The National Park Service says 22-year-old Austin King-Henke was last heard from around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17 when he called a family member from Eagle Peak, described online as the highest spot in Yellowstone and one of the most remote areas (based on distance from an established road) in the lower 48. 

A news release from the National Park Service says King-Henke was dropped off by boat at Terrace Point on Saturday, Sept. 14, and spoke with a backcountry ranger on a cabin two days later at a spot that was not on his planned route. After the conversation from Eagle Peak on Sept. 17, King-Henke failed to show up for a boat that failed to pick him up on Sept. 20.  

While on the summit at Eagle Peak, King-Henke described conditions as foggy and windy, with rain, sleet and hail. 

Search and Rescue teams from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks have been actively looking for King-Henke in the vicinity of Eagle Peak, Eagle Pass Mountain Creek Trail and Eagle Creek Trailhead in Shoshone National Forest over the past several days. Searchers located his camp and equipment Saturday evening in the upper Howell Creek area, but King-Henke was not there.

Rescue teams are using multiple helicopters and drones, and dogs on the ground in an effort to locate the missing hiker. 

King-Henke is a concessions worker at Yellowstone National Park. He grew up in Winona and is a graduate of Winona-Cotter High School. His Facebook page reflects a young man who loves the outdoors and the adventures that come with it. Social media is inundated with posts hoping for his safe return. 

“Come on kid, show us where you are,” wrote Austin’s grandfather Richard King. “2 helicopters, 4 boats, a drone, 48 people on the ground and a dog are all out there.”

“Think of this young man tonight and say a prayer for him and his family,” wrote poster Jill Williams. “I can’t imagine the pain they’re in right now. He’s been missing since the 17th and the search is still on. We hear the helicopters at times, wondering if they’re for him. May he be found safe soon.”

Austin’s father, Brian King-Henke, established a GoFundMe account to help him continue to play a leading role in the search effort. 

Austin King-Henke is described as 6 feet tall, 160 lbs. with brown hair, hazel eyes and glasses. He was last seen wearing gray pants and a black sweatshirt. Anyone who sees him or knows of Austin’s whereabouts is asked to call the Yellowstone Interagency Communications System at 307-344-2643.