A Georgia man will spend the rest of his life in prison after admitting he shot and killed his former sister-in-law and wounded her brother during a deadly confrontation inside a grocery store.
Teodros Mulat Shibeshi, 64, pleaded guilty to malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 25 years.
The shooting happened on April 27, 2024, at Tana Food Mart in Lilburn, about 25 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Prosecutors said Shibeshi walked into the store, where 57-year-old Tigist Lulesegud and her 65-year-old brother, Abebe D. Yeshetela, were working.
An argument broke out inside the business.
Witnesses told investigators that Shibeshi then pulled out a gun and repeatedly shot Lulesegud.
Prosecutors said he continued firing even after she had fallen to the floor.
Shibeshi then turned the gun toward Yeshetela and shot him in the leg.
Lulesegud died at the scene.
Her brother survived and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
A customer inside the store witnessed the violence and told police that after the shootings, Shibeshi announced that he was going to kill himself.
He then turned the gun on himself and fired.
Shibeshi survived the self-inflicted gunshot wound and was hospitalized.
Authorities initially released conflicting information about the relationships between the people involved, but investigators later clarified that Shibeshi was Lulesegud’s former brother-in-law.
The case was headed toward trial before Shibeshi ultimately pleaded guilty to all of the charges against him.
Prosecutors asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
The court agreed, sentencing Shibeshi to life without parole plus another 25 years.
Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said prosecutors hoped the outcome would bring some measure of justice to Lulesegud’s family.
The shooting marked one of Lilburn’s most serious violent crimes of 2024 and left a family mourning one relative while another recovered from a gunshot wound.
Hope he learns something while he is in prison