Teen Charged in Fatal Shooting of Saint Paul Businesswoman
A Saint Paul teenager has been ordered to stand trial as an adult, charged with two counts of 2nd-degree murder after allegedly firing the shots that killed a 34-year-old businesswoman in Saint Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood in February 2022.
The victim—Yuliya Li, 34—was found unconscious and with a gunshot wound to the neck inside her vehicle on the 1000 block of Payne Ave. around 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 16. Li was rushed to the hospital and was in critical condition but later died of her injuries.
Police say Li was planning a small dinner party at her home a few days later and was returning from the grocery store when she was fatally shot. An autopsy was performed and found Li died from a gunshot wound to the head.
PREVIOUSLY: Woman Killed in Payne-Phalen Shooting
Police reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby business and found that the suspects were in a grey Ford Taurus that was last seen northbound on Payne Ave. after the shooting, according to initial scanner reports.
Li was a business director for a Vadnais Heights-based company and moved to the United States from Kazakhstan in 2007 to attend the University of Minnesota, Bring Me The News reported.
On February 23, 2022, investigators identified and arrested Melvin Dump Williams, now 16, in relation to the case, saying that the casings recovered from the scene were fired by Williams using the same gun during two other incidents in Minneapolis.
Yuliya Li, in an image shared to Facebook
Williams was linked to the shooting using video surveillance from the shooting scene, and another video taken from an apartment building where Williams lived. Investigators say he was wearing the same orange sweatshirt in both videos and the grey Ford Taurus was seen in both surveillance videos.
Investigators used cell phone data to determine Williams’ phone was in the area of the Payne Ave. shooting and then followed a path back to his address.
A Ramsey County judge ordered Williams to stand trial as an adult on May 8, 2023. Williams’ bail is set at $500,000 with no conditions and he’s expected to make his first court appearance on Friday morning.
Williams faces 40 years in prison on each count if convicted.
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