Inset: Teodros Mulat Shibeshi (Gwinnett County Sheriff”s Office). Background: Tana Food Mart on Lawrenceville Highway in Lilburn, Georgia (Google Maps).
A Georgia man convicted of killing his former sister-in-law and shooting her brother will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Teodros Mulat Shibeshi, 64, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. The charges stemmed from the April 2024 shooting that killed 57-year-old Tigist Lulesegud.
Lulesegud’s 65-year-old brother, Abebe D. Yeshetela, was also wounded in the attack after being shot in the leg.
Shibeshi was sentenced to life in prison without parole, followed by an additional 25-year sentence, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.
“We hope this outcome can bring justice to Ms. Lulesegud’s family,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement.
The shooting occurred on April 27, 2024, at Tana Food Mart on Lawrenceville Highway in Lilburn, a community roughly 25 miles northeast of Atlanta. Lulesegud and Yeshetela were working inside the Ethiopian grocery store when Shibeshi entered and became involved in a dispute that escalated into a physical confrontation.
Shibeshi then drew a firearm and repeatedly shot Lulesegud. Police said he continued firing even after she had fallen to the floor.
The Lilburn Police Department said the three people had argued shortly before the gunfire erupted.
A witness told authorities that Shibeshi said, “I am taking myself out now.” He then turned the gun toward himself and fired.
The self-inflicted shooting did not kill him.
Lulesegud, Shibeshi’s former sister-in-law, was pronounced dead at the scene. Shibeshi and Yeshetela were taken to a hospital for treatment of their gunshot injuries.
By pleading guilty to every charge, Shibeshi avoided the trial that had been scheduled in the case, prosecutors said.
