Shakopee man who beheaded girlfriend found guilty of first-degree murder

SHAKOPEE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The man accused of beheading his girlfriend and dumping her body on a busy street in Shakopee during the summer of 2021 has been found guilty of murder.  

A Scott County judge found Alexis Saborit, 42, guilty of first-degree premeditated murder in court on Thursday in the death of 55-year-old America Thayer.

"[Saborit’s] assault of Thayer was brutal and vicious," the judge wrote in her decision.

Warning: The following details of this case are disturbing.

According to the charges, someone called 911 after seeing a man, later identified as Saborit, throw a headless body out of a car at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Spencer Street around 2:30 p.m. on July 28, 2021. When officers arrived, they found Thayer’s body lying on the ground next to the car with her head lying next to her. 

Officers found what appeared to be a sheath for a large knife in a nearby yard. They found a knife in a trash can in an alley in the area. Officers located Saborit a short distance away from the scene and took him into custody. 

The indictment reveals Saborit allegedly told a friend just days before the murder, "I’m going to chop her f---ing head off" and then laughed. Saborit also told investigators Thayer was threatening to leave him, so he killed her with a knife to her neck. 

The judge’s findings 

Saborit was initially charged with intentional second-degree murder but was later indicted on first-degree murder. Saborit waived his rights to a jury trial in January 2023, and the judge issued the verdict in the case on May 11. 

Saborit and his attorney have claimed mental health issues throughout the court process. But in the judge’s finding of facts, she listed evidence that he made deliberate decisions the day of the attack, including the weapons he used.  

"[Saborit] used both an 8-pound dumbbell and machete during his assault. [His] decision to put down the dumbbell and use the machete is evidence of a deliberate mental thought process," the judge wrote. 

The judge went on to say that since Saborit fled from the scene, disposed of the murder weapon and other evidence in separate locations, and changed his clothes shows his "consciousness of guilt," the verdict read.  

Saborit is scheduled to appear in court for a review hearing on June 1.