Monique Baugh, 28, was working like usual at her job as a Realtor in 2019 when she was kidnapped and murdered in the back of a U-Haul. Now, two years later, her killers have been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
At the sentencing on Monday afternoon, Baugh's mother, Wanda Williams Baugh, read a victim-impact statement while fighting back tears. There were dozens of people in the court supporting Williams Baugh, and many of them were also in tears.
"I can only imagine what was being said to her … how many times she begged for her life," Williams Baugh said in her statement. "My baby was so precious. How dare they!"
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The two men, Cedric Berry and Berry Davis, were convicted by a jury in June for kidnapping Baugh, a Realtor, during a fake home showing in Maple Grove on Dec. 31, 2019, holding her hostage in the back of a U-Haul truck and murdering her.
Berry and Davis were charged and convicted with aiding and abetting premeditated first-degree murder, aiding and abetting attempted premeditated first-degree murder, aiding and abetting kidnapping, and aiding and abetting first-degree felony murder while committing kidnapping.
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There was no reaction from Berry and Davis, who have maintained their innocence, while Williams Baugh and other family members spoke.
"These defendants treated my daughter as if she was less than human," Williams Baugh said. "My daughter came face-to-face with evil that New Year's Eve."
Williams Baugh asked Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill to sentence the two men, whom she called "soulless," to life in prison without the possibility of parole so they would "spend the rest of their miserable, insignificant lives in prison."
The defendants reportedly pressed Baugh for information on her boyfriend, Jon Mitchell-Momoh, who had a falling out with a business associate. She was held captive for approximately three hours and suffered scratches, bruises, a chipped tooth, and some of her acrylic fingernails were ripped off.
Baugh was found with a bullet wound to the face, heart, and spine in a north Minneapolis alley.
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The shooter, whom prosecutors assume was Berry, then went back to Baugh's apartment, where they shot Mitchell-Momoh multiple times while his daughters were home.
Williams Baugh said on Monday that she thinks her daughter was not forthcoming with Mitchell-Momoh's whereabouts, the Star Tribune reported. She did this to protect her daughters, but she eventually gave it up, and the shooter used her key to enter her house.
Williams Baugh shared that her daughter loved being a mother, and she tells her granddaughters that often. She even shared with the court that Baugh's eldest daughter has started asking difficult questions.
"'How is God going to save us if he couldn't save Mommy,'" Williams Baugh said. "That's a question a child should never have to ask."
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Berry was allowed to speak, and he told Baugh's family that he was sorry and had prayed for them. However, he then went into a critique of the criminal justice system.
"The monster's the system, a system that fails men like me," Berry said. "What is the agenda? America is a corporation and Minnesota is one of its businesses. … The system doesn't see me as a man; it sees me as a business."
He said to the court that his heart was "pure."
He then shared his condolences to Baugh's family, saying that he is praying the truth comes out.
Judge Cahill was not moved by Berry's statement saying that "the jury didn't agree, and I don't agree."
Berry was given about 13 years in prison for the kidnapping conviction, 20 years for attempted murder, and life without parole for the murder count.
The attempted murder sentences will run consecutively with the murder sentences. Cahill did this if Minnesota law changes in the future, allowing Berry to have a chance at parole; he will have to serve two terms back-to-back.
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The kidnapping term will run concurrently with the attempted murder term. Berry's attorneys said they are planning on appealing his convictions, as he and Davis are still claiming to be innocent.
"They didn't prove me wrong," Davis said. "To Ms. Wanda [Williams] Baugh, I hurt for you, but you did not receive justice today."
Cahill fired back at Davis, saying, "I think they did prove it, and the jury thinks they proved it."
Davis was given 13 years in prison for the kidnapping count, 20 for attempted murder, and life without parole for murder. The sentencing arrangement for Davis is identical to Berry's so that he will not serve less time if Minnesota law changes.
Williams Baugh found the remarks from the two men to be ridiculous and that she "[didn't] expect much from monsters like that."