The Shakopee Police Department has labeled a beheading a “stabbing incident.” As reported by The Minnesota Sun, a person was beheaded in Shakopee on Wednesday afternoon near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Spencer Street. Witnesses to the incident described the scene as “scary” and that they have “no words.”
According to a press release from the Shakopee Police Department, “Shakopee officers found 55-year-old America Mafalda Thayer of Shakopee on the sidewalk with stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.” Police arrested Alexis Saborit for the murder of Thayer. Saborit has pending charges of second-degree murder, according to the Scott County Jail Roster.
What the press release fails to detail is that Thayer was decapitated. Photos and videos obtained of the incident confirm that the victim was beheaded. Video footage of the incident allegedly shows a man pulling a body from the passenger door of a vehicle before picking up a severed head and dropping it on the ground.
As reported by The Sun, “This footage was originally posted to Snapchat with a caption that identifies it as being recorded on 4th Avenue in Shakopee.” The footage of the incident allegedly posted on Snapchat shows a grey Chrysler 300 vehicle. Police erected a tent around the Chrysler vehicle seen in the Snapchat video to investigate, aerial footage of the scene shows.
Sky4 over the scene of a homicide near 4th Ave. and Spencer St. in Shakopee.
Police say a suspect has been taken into custody. They do not believe the incident was random, and say there is no threat to the public. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/6r6dpMTWtj
— Nick Streiff (@nickstreiff) July 28, 2021
The suspect apprehended, Saborit, has been convicted of domestic assault prior to this incident. Saborit has four prior convictions, three of which are misdemeanors, and one was a gross misdemeanor. According to Minnesota Court Records, Saborit was still on probation and parole for the gross misdemeanor domestic abuse incident from September of 2017.
According to court documents obtained by Crime Watch Minneapolis, Saborit was ordered to have a mental health evaluation following an arson charge in the fall of 2020 and then released. His conditional release was then recommended to be revoked this spring, after a court doctor stated that his release could “endanger safety of any person or the community.” Judge Richard C. Perkins then ordered him to be released. Saborit had a court hearing for the arson charges scheduled for the day that the beheading took place.
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Despite the court's observation & his defense's claim that Saborit was mentally ill, he was released on bail. This spring, his conditional release was ordered revoked & a court doc claimed he was a danger to people & community. Judge Richard C. Perkins ordered him released. pic.twitter.com/CsGHywb9Fy— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) July 29, 2021
Court documents also seem to indicate that Thayer was the victim in the 2017 instance of domestic abuse, as the victim was referred to as “A.T.” which are America Thayer’s initials. The court case stated that Saborit and A.T. had been dating since 2010. Saborit also allegedly had two domestic abuse convictions from Louisiana.
5/ Court docs appear to confirm that the domestic abuse victim in the 2017 case had the initials A.T., same as yesterday's homicide victim.
Court records state that the victim & Saborit had been dating for 7 years at that point. He thought she had spoken to another man at a bar.— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) July 29, 2021
Investigators have stated that they believe that Saborit and Thayer had some sort of relationship and knew each other, saying that it was not a random act of violence. Law enforcement is asking anyone with information concerning this event to contact the Shakopee Police Department at 952-233-9400.
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “Sky4” by Nick Streiff (via Twitter).
