On a December evening in 2016, a young Ethiopian-American woman named Kedest Sileshi Simeneh, 22, found her life tragically cut short. The events that led to her death began in Springfield, Virginia, on December 22nd. Kedest, in the company of a few others, including Yohannes Nessibu, went to the home of her boyfriend, 22-year-old Henok Yohannes. The purpose of the visit was reportedly to purchase marijuana from Yohannes. A dispute erupted over the payment, which escalated with horrifying speed when Nessibu shot Henok in the back of the head.
Following the shooting of her boyfriend, Nessibu forced Kedest and the others to leave the house. They drove around until they reached a residential neighborhood in Burke, a little over two miles away. In the backyard of a home on Cordwood Court, Nessibu shot Kedest, in what prosecutors would later describe as a cold and calculated act to eliminate a witness. Her body, bearing injuries to the upper body, was discovered the next morning by a homeowner who saw her leaning against a tree.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly identified Yohannes Nessibu as the primary suspect. However, before law enforcement could apprehend him, Nessibu fled the United States, boarding a flight to his native Ethiopia just after the killings. This move initiated a lengthy international process to bring him back to face justice. For nearly three years, the families of Kedest Simeneh and Henok Yohannes waited in anguish. Finally, in February 2019, Ethiopian authorities took Nessibu into custody, and he was extradited to the U.S. in May of that year to face charges.
Yohannes Nessibu was charged with two counts of homicide and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was ultimately convicted in two separate trials for the killings. For the death of Henok Yohannes, a jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter. For the murder of Kedest Simeneh, he was convicted of the more severe charge of first-degree murder. In June 2023, a judge sentenced Nessibu to life in prison for Kedest's murder, an additional seven years for the manslaughter of Henok, and eight more years for the firearms charges. The sentencing hearing was marked by an outburst from Nessibu, who cursed at the victims' families after the sentence was handed down.
