Inset: Teodros Mulat Shibeshi (Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Tana Food Mart on Lawrenceville Highway in Lilburn, Ga. (Google Maps).
A Georgia man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his ex-wife's sister and shooting her brother.
On Friday, Teodros Mulat Shibeshi, 64, pleaded to one count of malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony over the April 2024 shooting death of 57-year-old Tigist Lulesegud.
The fatal gun violence also resulted in 65-year-old Abebe D. Yeshetela, the victim's brother, being shot in the leg.
In quick fashion, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus an additional 25-year sentence, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office.
"We hope this outcome can bring justice to Ms. Lulesegud's family," Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement.
On April 27, 2024, the victims were working at Tana Food Mart on Lawrenceville Highway in Lilburn — a small town located some 25 miles northeast of Atlanta. That day, the defendant walked into the Ethiopian grocery store and a dispute led to an altercation.
Then, Shibeshi pulled out a gun and shot Lulesegud over and over. Even as the woman was on the ground, the shooter continued to fire.
The trio allegedly got into an argument before the shooting started, the Lilburn Police Department said at the time.
One witness at the store recalled Shibeshi saying, "I am taking myself out now." Then, he pointed the gun in his own direction and fired.
The defendant, however, did not succeed in killing himself.
The killer's former sister-in-law was pronounced dead at the scene. Both men were taken to a hospital to treat their gunshot wounds.
Ultimately, the defendant pleaded guilty to all the charges against him and avoided an impending trial, prosecutors said.