In the early hours of March 1, 2025, the community of Lafayette, Indiana, was shaken by a grim discovery at the Village Square Apartments. Inside one of the ground-floor units, police found the bodies of 34-year-old Laportia Shenett, an African American female, and 28-year-old Kadeisha Ross. Both women had been fatally shot in what was quickly determined by investigators to be a targeted act of violence, not a random incident.
The Tippecanoe County Coroner's Office later confirmed that Shenett died from multiple gunshot wounds, while Ross sustained a single fatal gunshot wound.
The investigation into the double homicide led authorities to 50-year-old Seyene Vargas, who had a prior domestic relationship with Shenett. Evidence gathered by the Lafayette Police Department indicated that on the evening of February 28, Vargas had sent text messages to Shenett, asking for Ross to leave the apartment so the two could be alone. When Shenett ceased responding, Vargas allegedly borrowed a handgun and a vehicle. Surveillance footage from the apartment complex captured a vehicle matching the one Vargas borrowed arriving and leaving within a narrow timeframe. It is believed that after the murders, Vargas drove to Gary, Indiana, where she disassembled the firearm and hid the parts in different locations.
Following an investigation, a warrant was issued for Vargas's arrest on charges of two counts of murder, obstruction of justice, and false informing. On March 16, 2025, U.S. Marshals located and apprehended Seyene Vargas in Seattle, Washington. Investigators were able to recover the disassembled parts of the handgun, and ballistic testing indicated it was a probable match for the weapon used in the killings of Shenett and Ross. If convicted on all charges, Vargas could face a prison sentence of 90 to 130 years.
