Less than an hour after he allegedly killed five young Somali American women in a 2023 crash, Derrick Thompson complained that the police investigation into him was cutting into his Friday night plans.
“I don’t want to be here all night,” Thompson is heard saying in a police squad car video that was played in court Monday.
The video was played during the second week of Thompson’s murder trial, and on the same day a Minnesota State Patrol trooper testified that the women’s car was so damaged that first responders couldn’t tell how many victims were inside. One of the victim’s fathers also tearfully testified, soliciting tears from the gallery and a juror.
Thompson is charged with 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide and five counts of third-degree murder after allegedly running a red light and T-boning the Honda Civic at about 100 miles-an-hour with his rented Cadillac Escalade SUV.
Thompson is charged with killing Sahra Gesaade, 20; Salma Abdikadir, 20; Sagal Hersi, 19; Siham Odhowa, 19; and Sabiriin Ali, 17. The five friends had just been preparing to attend a wedding the next day.
Sagal Hersi’s father sobbed on the witness stand Monday morning as he recounted the moment he found out his daughter had been killed in the crash at Lake Street and 2nd Avenue in Minneapolis.
“I was shocked,” Burhan Warfaa testified through an interpreter, stopping at times to dab his eyes with a tissue.
‘How long is this going to take?’ Thompson asked police
Two Minneapolis police officers who helped apprehend Thompson in the parking lot of a Taco Bell near the crash scene testified Monday morning.
Officer Rachel Batinich waited with Thompson as he sat in the back of a squad car while other officers prepared to conduct a suspect identification in the field, which is also known as a “show-up.” A woman who lived near the scene had told police she saw a man flee the scene, and was going to see if she recognized Thompson in the show-up.
Video from inside the squad car was played for jurors.
“Do you know how long this is going to take?” Thompson asks Batinich in the video.
Batinich responded that she didn’t, and that officers had to gather information.
“I do got things I want to get done on my Friday night,” Thompson said. “It’s been a long day.”
A woman in the courtroom gallery shook her head as the video played.
Another officer, Kelly Damon, stood next to Thompson as officers carried out the show-up. On Damon’s body-worn camera footage, Thompson can be heard calling to another squad car, where witness Dorinda Pacheco was sitting.
“Please tell them that this is not me,” Thompson says.
Trooper describes ‘crumpled up’ car
Minnesota State Patrol trooper Vincent Wren was one of the first law enforcement officers at the crash scene on June 16, 2023, and testified that the women’s Honda Civic looked like a crushed soda can, with the middle part unrecognizable.
“You couldn’t recognize it,” he said. “It didn’t look much like a car at that point.”
Wren said that he first saw two bodies in the front of the Honda Civic, and that those seats were pushed out of position into the back of the vehicle. He soon saw there were more victims in the back. It wasn’t until first responders began to remove the bodies from the vehicle that they discovered there were five people inside.
Wren said some of the women were wearing seat belts, but that did “nothing” to keep them in place.
“It was clear that there was just no sign of life,” he testified.
Sgt. Kristofer Geiger, who works as a crash reconstruction specialist for the Minnesota State Patrol, testified Monday that was on-call the night of the crash and responded to the scene. He said the injuries the women sustained were “traumatic” and “catastrophic.”
“This is one of the worst crashes I’ve ever responded to,” he said.
Prosecutors played video footage from different security cameras showing multiple angles of the crash scene. Family members in the court gallery cried as the crash was played several times. Some held their heads in their hands. Photos of the crumpled Honda Civic and SUV were also shown on large TV screens in the courtroom.
As a crash reconstruction specialist, Geiger reviewed videos of the collision, collected data from the vehicles and completed calculations to conclude the cause of the crash.
He said only the actions of the SUV’s driver were to blame.
Kelly Lingen, a forensic scientist with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, testified Monday that a sample of Thompson’s blood tested positive for cannabis.
Geiger testified that while the SUV’s airbags went off on the driver and passenger sides of the vehicle, that doesn’t necessarily indicate that someone was sitting in the front passenger seat. Items, such as a bag that was found on the floor of the SUV, can set airbags to go off, he said.
Thompson’s attorney, Tyler Bliss, has told jurors that prosecutors don’t have the evidence to prove his client was driving the SUV. He indicated in a pre-trial court filing that he might argue that Thompson’s brother was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Victim’s father testifies
Burhan Warfaa, the father of Sagal Hersi, testified Monday morning during spark of life testimony, which allows jurors to hear more about the victims.
Burhan testified through an interpreter that his daughter had graduated high school and was planning on attending Saint Paul College.
“She was the best daughter any father can have,” he said, breaking into sobs.
Family members and loved ones wept in the courtroom as he testified. One juror wiped away tears.
Burhan recalled a phone call he got from a niece the night of the crash, informing him that his daughter and four women, who were close friends and relatives, had been killed.
“How have things changed without her?” asked Senior Assistant Hennepin County Attorney James Hanneman.
“I’m not the same person that I used to be — always thinking about her,” Burhan replied.
