The parents of a north Minneapolis woman who was kidnapped and killed on New Year's Eve thanked the community for its support.
Wanda Williams Baugh and Frank Baugh spoke briefly after a hearing Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court for one of four suspects charged in the killing of their daughter, Monique Baugh.
"I just want to thank the community for all of the support," Williams Baugh said. "Just having us in their thoughts and prayers is greatly appreciated."
Monique Baugh, 28, the mother of 1- and 3-year-old daughters, was shot at close range in a north Minneapolis alley in what authorities have characterized as a murder-for-hire plot targeting her boyfriend, rapper Jon Mitchell-Momoh, around a dispute over a record deal.
Baugh, a real estate agent, was kidnapped in a U-Haul rental truck from an afternoon home showing in Maple Grove. Someone shot and wounded Mitchell-Momoh about 5:40 p.m. and killed Baugh, whose wrists were bound with tape, at 6:38 p.m. later that day.
Williams Baugh and Frank Baugh appeared in family court later Tuesday for a hearing on their request for joint custody of Baugh's daughters. Hennepin County District Court Referee Holly Knight said the court had not received a response from Mitchell-Momoh, who did not attend the hearing.
She granted Williams Baugh and Frank Baugh joint custody.
Frank Baugh said Mitchell-Momoh has seen his daughters once and possibly twice since Jan. 1. Williams Baugh said she remains concerned about his lifestyle.
"This situation has not changed his behavior. He's still on social media taunting — ," Williams Baugh said, ending the sentence. "The kids' lives would be in danger if they are with him, and I still think his life is in danger."
Frank Baugh said that Mitchell-Momoh approved of the custody plan, which would grant him supervised visits.
Mitchell-Momoh could not be reached for comment. He previously told the Star Tribune he was pained by accusations that he bore some responsibility for the shooting.
Baugh's elder daughter recently asked about visiting her mother, Williams Baugh said, adding that she told the girl her mother was an "angel princess" and that they could not visit her. The girl laid her head down and cried.
"She misses her mom," she said. "[Monique] was a hands-on mom. She loved her kids."
Earlier Tuesday one of the suspects, Elsa Segura, 28, appeared in court. Authorities accuse Segura, a former Hennepin County probation officer and Interstate 35W bridge collapse survivor, of luring Baugh to the Maplewood home where at least two men kidnapped her.
Segura's attorney, Amanda Montgomery, argued for her bail to be lowered to $100,000. Segura's bail had been set in late January at $1 million without conditions and $500,000 with conditions.
Segura turned herself into authorities, has no felony convictions and has family support, Montgomery argued.
Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Thad Tudor opposed lowering bail.
"Investigators continue to work around the clock," he said. "This was a well-financed operation."
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill did not lower Segura's bail, telling her that she was a "severe risk to public safety" and a "risk to flee because of what you're facing."
