A MURDER suspect has been arrested after chilling footage showed a mom-of-three desperately fleeing her home before she was found dismembered.
Joseph S. Jorgenson, 40, has been linked to the death of Manijeh Starren, 34, and the disappearance of another woman after Starren's dismembered remains were discovered in a storage unit last week.
Starren, from Saint Paul, Minnesota, was reported missing by her father on May 1 after he hadn't heard from her since April 21.
Police charged Jorgenson with murder on Friday after finding her remains wrapped in plastic and shoved inside coolers.
Officials said they are also investigating Jorgensen in the disappearance of Fanta Xayavong, 33, who was last seen with him in July 2021.
Xayavong was not reported missing until May 2023, according to cops.
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“She does have a connection with Jorgensen, and, to put it bluntly, we’re concerned for her safety also,” Saint Paul Sergeant Mike Ernster said.
Jorgenson's arrest came after cops found chilling evidence allegedly linking him to Starren's death.
HAUNTING VIDEO
Footage obtained by police allegedly shows Starren racing away from her apartment at around 6pm on April 21 - the last day her father heard from her.
Jorgenson ran after her and "grabbed her, turned her around, and pushed her back into the apartment," according to a probable cause affidavit seen by Fox News.
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"Jorgenson is the only one that comes out of that unit, and Mani is never seen again," Sergeant Ernster said.
"He did not report her missing to police. Instead, he just went on with his life without saying anything to anyone."
Days after she was last seen, Jorgensen was spotted entering her apartment with her keys 28 times.
On April 28, he allegedly left while carrying two duffle bags and a suitcase to his truck.
Google data obtained by police show that he searched terms like "jugular" and "what do police do with a missing person's report."
He also searched "lime for soil" which is used to speed up body decomposition.
Police arrested Jorgenson on Monday after finding a Facebook post from April 5 in which he allegedly threatened Starren.
“N u owe me 2 bc u called the cops on me 2 times. Very clear I was of that being punishable by hanging. I’m giving u this plea bargain opportunity," he allegedly wrote.
Police said Jorgenson barricaded himself inside his apartment when the SWAT team came for him. He allegedly started a fire and tried to fight off officers.
CHILLING SIGNS
Starren, a mother-of-three, struggled with drug addiction and mental health issues, her father told police, according to Law & Crime.
She was supposed to go to a drug treatment center before she disappeared but she never went.
Starren's father said she seemed afraid of a boyfriend named Joe, who wrapped a rope around her neck when "things got out of hand" one time, according to court docs.
Neighbors said they saw her with red marks and bruises on her face and offered to call the police, but Starren reportedly said: "It will just make things worse."
According to the court docs, police found evidence of someone "seriously injured or killed" and what seemed to be an attempt by someone "to clean up the blood" in Starren's apartment.
The blood was found strewn across the living room and kitchen near a cracked TV screen and broken glass from a microwave.
SUSPECT CHARGED
Authorities found a storage facility using Jorgenson's phone data earlier this week. Investigators discovered someone had rented the unit with his roommate's name.
Outside of the storage unit, police smelled a strong odor consistent with decomposing flesh, the outlet reports.
Investigators found a green tote bag with cleaning supplies, a large cooler wrapped in plastic, a blue duffle bag, and a small carry-on suitcase.
“A torso appeared to be in the large cooler pulled from the unit,” the complaint said.
“The arms and legs appeared to be in the large bag, and a head was in the smaller cooler removed from the unit."
Starren's death has been ruled a homicide but her cause of death is still under investigation.
Jorgenson is charged with second-degree murder, as well as separate charges of arson, threats of violence, and disarming an officer from his resisted arrest.
He's being held on a $5million bond and is due back in court on August 21.
Starren has been described as a devoted mother in a GoFundMe page that was started to raise money for her family.
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"Her beautiful three kids have horrifically lost the most beautiful person in their lives," the description reads.
"I don't have many ways to help them myself so my hopes are we are able to help them this way."
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