Inset: Shaniya Thompson (GoFundMe). Background: Police investigate Thompson”s death at an apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota (St. Paul police).
A tragic series of events unfolded when a Minnesota man allegedly killed his girlfriend during their daughter’s birthday celebration, then fled with their children to Michigan before ultimately being apprehended in Canada.
Wesley Koboi, age 33, is facing charges of second-degree murder for the death of 29-year-old Shaniya Thompson in St. Paul. Police were called to an apartment complex on the 500 block of Broadway Street around 4:15 p.m. on Friday, following reports of a woman being shot. Inside, officers discovered Thompson had been fatally shot in the head, and a firearm was located within the residence.
Authorities suspect that the shooting occurred on Thursday. As detailed in a probable cause arrest affidavit made available by Law&Crime, officers interviewed the daughter of Thompson and Koboi, who revealed she was in Michigan. When asked about her mother’s well-being, she replied, “I don’t know,” adding that her father had a gun and repeatedly claimed the shooting was accidental. The incident transpired during a birthday party for one of the children, which escalated into an argument between Koboi and Thompson.
Another child informed detectives that a dispute had already been occurring between Thompson and Koboi before the shooting. The complaint details how Koboi allegedly brandished a “short” firearm and aimed it at Thompson’s head, instructing the children to leave the living room for a bedroom. Soon after, they heard a loud “thud.”
Following the incident, Koboi reportedly entered the bedroom and informed the children they were leaving. He then drove them over eight hours to a relative’s residence in Grand Rapids, Michigan—believed to be his mother’s home. Authorities say Koboi later traveled to Port Huron, crossing into Canada via the Sarnia Blue Water Bridge. Although he purportedly booked a flight to Mexico, Koboi was arrested in Toronto on Tuesday, according to local NBC affiliate KARE.
The family of Shaniya Thompson is left heartbroken, as a day meant for celebration turned into a devastating act of violence.
“He came into her home bearing gifts for my young niece’s birthday,” wrote Thompson’s sister Shayna Jason in a GoFundMe post. “All the while planning to shoot and kill my sister. While my nieces and nephews were there they heard gunshots and a scream.”
Jason wrote that her sister was a devoted mother to five children “whose lives have been forever changed.”
“These children witnessed the unthinkable, and now they are left not only grieving their mother but also facing trauma that no child should ever endure,” Jason said. “They will need counseling, care, and support as they try to heal. With Christmas so close, we are heartbroken knowing they may go without during what should be a time of love and comfort.”
