Tabitha Leigh Trescott, a 32-year-old woman from New Ulm, Minnesota, was trying to build a quieter, steadier life for herself and her two sons when violence came crashing back into her world. She had begun a relationship with Justin Reinarts, a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter who lived in the tiny town of Hanska, about a dozen miles away. In the early hours of Sunday, November 2, 2025, the two of them were together at a house on Blessum Street West, a modest home just across from the city
park, when the night turned into something her family now remembers only as “senseless” and “unthinkable.”
Just after 4:20 a.m., Brown County dispatch received a frantic 911 call from a juvenile in the house, reporting that his mother’s ex-boyfriend had broken in and shot her. Deputies raced to 102 Blessum Street West and, on entering the home, climbed to an upstairs bedroom where they found Tabitha and Justin on the floor with devastating gunshot wounds to their heads; investigators later recovered two spent shotgun shells nearby. One of Tabitha’s sons told authorities he had been jolted awake by shouting, heard a gunshot, and opened his door to see the intruder in the hallway with a long gun. The man pointed the weapon at the boy and ordered him back into his room, and from there the child made the call that brought law enforcement to the scene.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office quickly identified the suspect as 45-year-old Randy Thomas Zimmerman of Courtland, Minnesota, Tabitha’s former boyfriend. According to charging documents and news reports, Zimmerman is alleged to have forced his way into the house in the pre-dawn darkness, confronted the couple, and fired the fatal shots at close range. One of Tabitha’s sons later told investigators he heard Zimmerman shouting angry obscenities and saying that he had “given her a chance” before the blasts echoed through the home, suggesting a violent escalation of a long-brewing domestic conflict. In the chaos that followed, the terrified boy did as he was told, returned to his room, and then reached for the phone that would not only summon deputies but also set off a multi-state manhunt.
By the time first responders arrived, Zimmerman was gone. Authorities issued an alert across southern Minnesota and neighboring Iowa, warning that he was armed and dangerous. Several hours later, law enforcement in Iowa spotted the suspect’s vehicle, and what followed was a desperate, three-county chase that reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour along rural roads. During the pursuit, Zimmerman allegedly fired a shotgun out of his vehicle at deputies, miraculously injuring no one. Iowa officers executed multiple PIT maneuvers to force his vehicle off the road; even after it was driven into a ditch, he tried to flee on foot before being tackled and taken into custody. He was arrested in Louisa County, Iowa, on the Minnesota murder warrants that same afternoon.
In the days that followed, Brown County officials formally charged Zimmerman with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Tabitha and Justin, offenses that carry a potential maximum sentence of 40 years each if he is convicted. At a subsequent hearing, a judge set his bail at $10 million without conditions and $5 million with strict conditions, citing the brutality of the killings, his attempt to escape across state lines, and the allegation that he pointed a gun at a child and later fired at pursuing officers. Minnesota’s Attorney General’s Office has since moved to convene a grand jury in Brown County, a step that could lead to upgraded first-degree murder charges depending on the evidence presented. Separate Iowa charges related to the chase and shots fired at deputies also remain a possibility. As of mid-November 2025, Zimmerman is in custody awaiting further court proceedings; no one else has been publicly identified as a suspect, and authorities have not suggested the involvement of any accomplices.
While prosecutors and defense attorneys prepare for a long legal battle, the focus in Hanska and New Ulm has turned to the children and families left behind. Tabitha’s relatives describe her as loving and fiercely devoted to her boys, and an online fundraiser created by her aunt speaks of a family trying to give her sons some measure of comfort and stability in the wake of their loss. Another fundraiser has been set up for Justin’s children, honoring him as a hardworking father and dedicated firefighter whose life was intertwined with the safety of the same community now mourning him. Memorial posts and obituary notices portray Tabitha as someone with a big heart and an enduring spirit, the kind of person whose absence leaves a quiet but unmistakable emptiness in classrooms, workplaces, and neighborhood gatherings. In the weeks since the shooting, candles, donations, and small acts of remembrance have become the community’s way of pushing back against the horror of that November night, insisting that Tabitha’s story be defined not only by the violence that ended her life, but by the love she gave and the people who will carry her memory forward.
