New Charges Filed Against Couple Accused of Murdering Pregnant Woman

(KNSI) — New charges are being filed against two people who are accused of killing a woman who was seven months pregnant at the time of her murder.

The two now face murder charges for the death of her unborn baby.

Shannon Michael Benson and Jade Monet Rissell are now charged with one count of murdering an unborn child. The 42-year-old Benson and the 27-year-old Rissell are also charged with second-degree murder for killing the woman.

According to the amended criminal complaint, police responded to 35th Avenue South and Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis for a travel trailer that was on fire. After the fire was out, crews discovered the body of the as-yet-unidentified pregnant woman. Her body seemed to be propped up against a cabinet inside the trailer, and investigators say combustible gas was detected on a mattress and the body.

Before the fire, the woman, believed to be Rissell, was seen driving an SUV with the trailer attached by a witness who said the SUV stopped and the woman inside asked her for a cigarette. That witness told police, moments later, she saw the trailer on fire.

Investigators tracked down the history of the trailer and said they learned that it had been sold in September to a man and woman matching the descriptions of Rissell and Benson.

The victim was reported missing from the Anoka area late last month, and her boyfriend said he had tried to find her using an app that finds lost keys. On October 31st, he said the app led him to 4th Avenue South and East 25th Street in Minneapolis. He said he took a picture of the burned travel trailer, the black SUV, and another shorter trailer.

Investigators went to that area and found Benson and Rissell living in the shorter trailer and arrested them.

According to the criminal complaint, Rissell admitted lighting the trailer on fire to cover up the body. In a sworn statement, she said about a week before the fire, she lured the victim to the larger trailer and then assaulted her with brass knuckles, knocking her unconscious. She said Benson knew what happened but didn’t call 911. She said they left the woman in the trailer “for a few days” before taking the trailer to 35th and Hennepin to burn it.

Minneapolis police have identified the victim, but the Hennepin County Medical Examiner has not released any more information regarding her name or her cause and manner of death.

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