A man has admitted that he fatally choked his girlfriend in her downtown St. Paul apartment, according to murder charges filed this week.
Kelvin M. Perry, 56, of St. Paul pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court last week to second-degree intentional murder in connection with the death on Nov. 15, 2023, of 39-year-old Shaqita M. Thomas at her residence in the Press House Apartments.
The plea agreement between prosecutors and the defense calls for Perry to receive a 24½-year term. Sentencing is scheduled for July 23. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Perry is expected to serve the first 15½ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Perry entered what is known as a Norgaard plea, meaning he admits to the murder but has no memory of it.
Immediately after the killing, Perry walked in front of a light-rail train at the Western Avenue station and was struck, the criminal complaint read. He received medical attention at Regions Hospital and was booked into jail about a week later. The complaint does not say whether he intentionally walked onto the tracks.
According to the complaint:
Thomas’ estranged husband asked police to check on her after not hearing from her for a couple of days. Emergency responders went to her apartment in the 300 block of Cedar Street and found her body under an air mattress.
She had cuts in various places and head injuries. The County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Thomas died from asphyxia.
