Another missing woman's remains found in storage unit: St. Paul Police

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - St. Paul Police announced Friday they had identified the remains of Fanta Xayavong at a storage unit in Coon Rapids.

Last week police said they were concerned for the safety of Xayavong, who was last seen with Joseph Jorgenson in July 2021, and reported missing in May 2023.

On June 30, Ramsey County prosecutors charged Jorgenson, 40, with second-degree intentional murder in connection to the death of 34-year-old Manijeh "Mani" Starren. Charges say her remains were found in a storage unit in Woodbury nearly two months after she was reported missing. At the time of his arrest, police said they believe she might not be the only victim of Jorgenson’s.

"This is nothing short of horrific," said St. Paul Police Department Sgt. Mike Ernster on Friday. "For the second time in a week, we have found a missing person deceased."

According to police, an investigation began into Xayavong’s disappearance following a tip to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions (BCA) Human Trafficking tip line following the discovery of Starren. Police do not yet know where Xayavong’s death occurred, but a search warrant has also been served in Shoreview at a home previously owned by Jorgenson until September 2022, in hopes of finding additional evidence, police said.

At this time, Jorgenson remains a person of interest in Xayavong’s death, but has not been charged with a crime. Police believe there could still be more victims, and an investigation is still active and ongoing.

"This all began with a tip that put us on the path to finding Fanta," said Ernster. "We’re looking for anybody who has someone missing that has had contact with Jorgenson to call us."

Anyone with information is urged to call the BCA tipline at 1-877-996-6222 or email at bca.tips@state.mn.us.

Previous victim

According to court records, Starren was reported missing on May 1 after her family hadn’t heard from her since mid-April. Investigators initially began looking for Starren at her apartment on the 1400 block of 7th Street East in St. Paul.

A person close to Starren told investigators he last heard from her on April 21, when she told him "Joe" had wrapped a rope around her neck as "things got out of hand" and she ran from the apartment, charges allege. 

On April 28, authorities say surveillance video captured Jorgenson leaving the apartment with bags, loading them into a pickup truck and driving off, charges said. Investigators obtained Jorgenson’s phone data showing he allegedly Googled "What do police do with a missing person’s report," "How to clear cookies from Android phone," and the term "jugular," which is a major blood vessel in the neck.

On June 26, SWAT teams executed a search warrant at Jorgenson’s apartment in Maplewood to search for evidence in the case. Jorgenson allegedly barricaded himself in the bedroom and started a fire in the closet. He fought with officers and attempted to disarm an officer’s AR-15 firearm. Two officers suffered minor injuries in the incident, according to police.

On June 28, investigators executed a search warrant at the storage unit in Woodbury and found multiple containers, including the bag Jorgenson was allegedly seen carrying from Starren’s apartment, along with cleaning supplies. 

Starren’s remains were found wrapped in plastic inside different containers, according to charges. The medical determined her manner of death as a homicide.