Two men sentenced to life without parole for kidnapping, murdering north Minneapolis woman

Wanda Williams Baugh can't see a passing U-Haul truck without imagining the horror her daughter endured when she was kidnapped in one of the vehicles in 2019, tortured and eventually shot and killed.

Williams Baugh gave a victim-impact statement choked with sobs Monday afternoon before the two men were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for kidnapping and murdering her daughter, Monique Baugh.

"I can only imagine what was being said to her … how many times she begged for her life," Williams Baugh told the court. "My baby was so precious. How dare they!"

Several of the approximately three dozen people who were at court supporting the family cried as Williams Baugh spoke.

Jurors convicted Cedric Berry and Berry Davis in June of kidnapping Baugh, 28, a Realtor, from a fake home showing in Maple Grove on Dec. 31, 2019, holding her hostage in the back of a U-Haul truck and murdering her.

Berry and Davis, who have maintained their innocence, did not react as Williams Baugh and other family members spoke.

"These defendants treated my daughter as if she was less than human," Williams Baugh said. "My daughter came face-to-face with evil that New Year's Eve."

Williams Baugh called Berry and Davis "soulless," and asked Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill to sentence them to life in prison without the possibility of parole so that they would "spend the rest of their miserable, insignificant lives in prison." Life terms are mandatory for first-degree murder.

Jurors convicted both Berry and Davis of aiding and abetting premeditated first-degree murder, aiding and abetting attempted premeditated first-degree murder, aiding and abetting kidnapping, and aiding and abetting first-degree felony murder while committing kidnapping.

The brutality of the crime shocked the community. Baugh was held captive for about three hours as the defendants apparently pressed her for the whereabouts of her boyfriend, Jon Mitchell-Momoh, who had had a falling out with a business associate.

She suffered scratches, bruises, a chipped tooth and some of her acrylic fingernails were ripped off. She was shot in the face, heart and spine and left in a north Minneapolis alley.

The shooter, who prosecutors said likely was Berry, later shot and wounded Mitchell-Momoh multiple times in Williams Baugh's townhouse while his daughters were home.

A former Hennepin County probation officer, Elsa Segura, was charged with making the appointment with Baugh for the home showing. Segura was romantically linked to Mitchell-Momoh's former associate, Lyndon Wiggins, who apparently believed Mitchell-Momoh had "snitched" on him for dealing drugs, prosecutors have said.

Mitchell-Momoh testified at Berry and Davis' joint trial that in 2019 he left Wiggins' music label and that Wiggins accused him of stealing music. Mitchell-Momoh said Wiggins' reaction prompted him, Baugh and their daughters, then 3 and 1, to leave their Coon Rapids home.

Baugh and the girls were living with her mother in north Minneapolis at the time of the murder.

Williams Baugh said Monday she believes her daughter resisted divulging Mitchell-Momoh's whereabouts as long as possible in order to protect her daughters. The shooter eventually used Baugh's key to enter Williams Baugh's home.

"Monique loved being a mother," Williams Baugh said. "I tell her girls that often."

She told the court that Baugh's eldest daughter has begun asking difficult questions. Once, the girl asked, " 'How is God going to save us if he couldn't save Mommy?'

"That's a question a child should never have to ask," Williams Baugh said.

Mitchell-Momoh's mother, Joan Mitchell-Momoh, said she called Baugh her "daughter-in-love." Joan Mitchell-Momoh also was a Realtor, but has been unable to work due to the trauma and paranoia she suffers because of Baugh's murder.

"Do [Berry and Davis] ever think of their own mother, sister, wife, cousin?" Joan Mitchell-Momoh asked.

Beth Armanini, who spoke for Baugh's father, Frank Baugh, said Baugh was a devoted sister to her younger siblings on her dad's side. Baugh was Williams Baugh's only child.

When given an opportunity to speak, Berry told Baugh's family he prayed for them and was sorry. He then launched into a critique of the criminal justice system.

Berry juxtaposed his experience with that of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was sentenced last month to 22½ years in prison for killing George Floyd last year.

"The monster's the system, a system that fails men like me," Berry said. "What is the agenda? America is a corporation and Minnesota is one of its businesses. … The system doesn't see me as a man; it sees me as a business."

Berry told the court his heart is "pure."

"Once again, my condolences to the Baugh family," he said. "I hate that you guys had to go through this, and I pray that the truth comes out."

Cahill was unmoved.

"The jury didn't agree, and I don't agree," Cahill said.

Cahill gave Berry about 13 years in prison for the kidnapping conviction, 20 years for attempted murder and life without parole for the murder count.

The attempted murder and murder sentences will run consecutively, Cahill said, so that if Minnesota law changes in the future and Berry is given a chance at parole, he will have to serve two terms back-to-back.

The kidnapping term will run concurrent with the attempted murder term.

Berry's attorneys said they plan to appeal his convictions.

Davis proclaimed his innocence and glared at Mitchell-Momoh in the audience.

"They didn't prove me wrong," Davis said. "To Ms. Wanda [Williams] Baugh, I hurt for you but you did not receive justice today."

"Well Mr. Davis, I think they did prove it, and the jury thinks they proved it," Cahill said.

The judge gave Davis a little over 13 years in prison for the kidnapping count, 20 for attempted murder and life without parole for murder. Davis' sentencing arrangement is identical to Berry's to prevent him from serving less time if Minnesota law changes.

Williams Baugh said afterward that Berry and Davis' remarks were ridiculous and self-serving. "I don't even expect much from monsters like that," she said.

Jon Mitchell-Momoh, the boyfriend, declined to comment after the sentencing.

Segura, Wiggins and Davis's sister, Shante Davis, who is married to Cedric Berry, also are charged in the case and are awaiting trial.