Derrick Thompson found guilty of murder in south Minneapolis crash that killed 5 women
A jury found Derrick Thompson guilty of killing five young women in a high-speed south Minneapolis crash in June of 2023.
Thompson was charged with five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide. The jury on Friday afternoon determined he was guilty of all charges.
Derrick Thompson, 32, drew the attention of state trooper on Interstate 35W by driving a rented Cadillac erratically at more than 100 mph.
Closing arguments began Thursday morning, and the jury was handed the case soon after. The jury deliberated Thursday afternoon before returning at 11 a.m. Friday. The verdict was read around 2:45 p.m. Friday. Later in the afternoon, the jury also determined that the charges would be aggravated.
Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty said her office will be seeking a lengthy sentence for Thompson.
"Mr. Thompson is being held accountable, and we will do everything we can to ensure that he can never do this again," Moriarty said.
Derrick Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 24.
Families of victims react to the verdict
"All our mothers, five of us, five fathers, we feel relief right now," Fadumo Warsame, mother of Sahra Gesaade, said. "We feel, off our shoulder, heaviness."
The families of Gesaade, 20, Salma Abdikadir, 20, Sabiriin Ali, 17, Sagal Hersi, 19, and Siham Odhowa, 19, spoke outside the Hennepin County courtroom shortly after the verdict was read. They say the verdict was bittersweet.
"He [Thompson] can call his mom and dad from the jail and tell them he loves them. But our daughters, they're never going to call us. We're never going to see their wedding. We're never going to see our grandchildren," Warsame said.
"Today's verdict has finally given our families a sense of relief," Yusra Ali, a friend of the victims, said. "Still, the trial over the past two weeks forced us to relive the trauma and heartbreak we have carried every day."
Ali says the incident has changed the course of all
Juror speaks out after trial
A jury member who spoke to WCCO after the trial said their decision was largely impacted by Thompson's brother testifying against him. As the defense had previously argued, the brother was the person behind the wheel.
"We actually looked at some stuff from the car," Lucas Sundelius, a juror, said. "He's a tall guy, and the thing that actually confirmed it for us was where the seat was in terms of how far it was pushed back, because that guy had long legs."
What happened during the trial?
During the trial, the jury heard from a Minnesota state trooper who said he noticed an SUV weaving in and out of traffic lanes.
Body camera footage from the scene of the crash showed a state trooper approaching the SUV Derrick Thompson was driving. He then described the car that the five women were in at the time of the crash.
"You couldn't recognize it," Minnesota State Trooper Vincent Wren said. "It didn't look much like a car at that point."
Jurors were also shown video of the moment police caught up with Derrick Thompson after the crash. A witness had reported seeing him run from the scene.
"Please tell them it is not me," Derrick Thompson said in a body camera video from a Minneapolis police officer. "I'm 6'5'', it's not hard for me to be missed. My hair is not blonde. My hair is red. Please tell them that this is not me."
Several family members of the victims also testified during the five-day trial.
Gesaade's sister, Rukia Gesaade, told the courtroom that Sahra wanted to become a doctor one day.
"She was like everything, a mentor, built-in best friend. She was a very smart person," Rukia Gesaade said.
Derrick Thompson's defense team, however, argued that he wasn't behind the wheel at the time. Instead they alleged it was his brother, who hasn't been charged in connection to the case.
Demarco Thompson, 32, testified that he drove his brother to the airport to rent a car on the day of the deadly crash. They then drove in their separate vehicles from the airport, Demarco Thompson said.
Damarco Thompson said when his brother drove off, there was nobody else in the SUV. He also said at no point during the day did he drive the SUV.
During cross-examination, Damarco Thompson denied being in the Cadillac during the crash. He said he was only inside the Cadillac briefly at the airport.
