Maplewood man pleads guilty to murdering, dismembering girlfriends within 2-year span

A Maplewood man admitted in graphic detail Thursday in Ramsey County District Court the actions he took to murder two women he dated within a two-year span, as well as how he dismembered their corpses and stashed them in two storage lockers before they were discovered in 2023.

Joseph Steven Jorgenson, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder for the dismemberment killings of Fanta Xayavong of Shoreview in September 2021, and Manijeh "Mani" Starren of St. Paul in April 2023.

In exchange for his plea, Jorgenson will be sentenced to 40 years in prison for each woman's killing — the maximum allowed by law — to be served concurrently. In issuing the presumed sentence beyond state guidelines, Judge Leonardo Castro cited aggravating factors in each case including that the perpetrator and victim were in a romantic relationship, that the murders occurred in zones of privacy, and that the corpses were dismembered to conceal the crime.

Castro will sentence Jorgenson on Feb. 28.

"These heinous acts of cruelty took the lives of two young women and forever altered the future of their friends and family," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement. "We commend the diligent work of those in law enforcement as well as our staff who worked tirelessly to bring about charges leading to convictions supported by the available evidence and, ultimately, a measure of closure for each victim. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to their surviving family and friends."

Jorgenson was arrested and charged in June 2023 for the murder of Starren, 33, two months after her father reported her missing from her apartment in the 1400 block of E. 7th Street. He reported that she struggled with mental health and addiction challenges but had not checked in, and he mentioned that his daughter may have been afraid of a boyfriend. Police identified the boyfriend as Jorgenson, who was the last person seen with Starren.

After reviewing other evidence, investigators identified Jorgenson as the primary suspect in her disappearance and likely murder. Investigators reviewed evidence that suggested Jorgenson killed Starren in her apartment before moving her body, including surveillance footage that showed him entering and leaving the apartment 28 times, carrying two duffel bags and a suitcase to a pickup truck. They later found her remains in a cooler and large backpack inside a Woodbury storage locker.

He was also combative with a manager and a maintenance employee who tried to enter the apartment after residents complained of a foul smell throughout the building.

During the Starren probe, investigators uncovered evidence of the killing of Xayavong, 33, after her remains were found in a separate storage locker in Coon Rapids. Evidence pointed to Jorgenson killing her at his residence on Fernwood Street in Shoreview.

Jorgenson was charged Thursday with Xayavong's death, the same day he entered his guilty plea. According to that charge, police received a tip in May 2023 of Xayavong's disappearance. During the investigation, police recovered messages between Jorgenson and another person in which he admitted breaking his hand by striking her.

Other witnesses who had visited the Shoreview townhouse told police it smelled "terrible." After Jorgenson moved out, a cleaning crew noted stains and a "horrible smell" emanating from the room, and law enforcement cadaver dogs alerted human remains.

A July 2023 search of the Coon Rapids storage locker revealed Xayavong's remains were stashed in styrofoam coolers and large plastic totes, as well as the knives believed to have been used in her murder and dismemberment. Her hands were tied behind her back.

In court Thursday, Jorgenson walked through the graphic details of each crime, including how he choked Starren to death after she asked him to leave her apartment. In Xayavong's death, he said, he was drunk and arguing with her before he assaulted her, including striking her in the head with his knee. In both cases, he said he dismembered the bodies to avoid being caught.

"I was very drunk at the time, and yes — in the heat of the moment — I was ... yes [trying to kill her]," he said of Xayavong's murder. "I did feel bad about it immediately afterwards, but my intent at that time was to kill her."