Man Who Fled To Ethiopia Convicted Of 2016 Murder Of Woman In Burke

BURKE, VA — An Alexandria man was convicted of first-degree murder on Aug. 31 in connection with the December 2016 shooting death of a woman in the backyard of a Burke residence, according to officials.

Yohannes Nessibu, 28, who was extradited from Ethiopia in 2019, was convicted by a jury in the death of Kedest Simeneh, 22, who was found in the backyard in the 9500 block of Cordwood Court in Burke on Dec. 23, 2016.

Nessibu also is charged in the shooting death of 22-year-old Henok Yohannes, whose was found shot dead inside his home in the 6400 block of Blarney Stone Court in Burke on Dec. 22, 2016. He has yet to stand trial in the death of Yohannes.

A formal sentencing hearing for Nessibu in the first-degree murder conviction of Simeneh is scheduled for Feb. 17, 2023.

Nessibu, a U.S. citizen, is accused of fleeing to his native Ethiopia after the two killings. A Fairfax County grand jury indicted him in March 2017 on murder and weapons charges in the fatal shootings of the couple.

In February 2019, Nessibu was taken into custody by Ethio­pian officials. In May 2019, he was then extradited from Ethiopia to Fairfax County to stand trial on the murder charges.

At a news conference last Thursday, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said he hopes Nessibu’s trial in the shooting death of Yohannes would be scheduled before his sentencing in the murder of Simeneh.

“With the guilty verdict that we got, Mr. Nessibu is already facing life in prison,” Descano said at the news conference.

Fairfax County police detectives told family members of Simeneh and Yohannes that Nessibu had gone with a group of people to Yohannes’s home to purchase drugs, but then something went wrong with the deal and Nessibu shot him, The Washington Post reported.

Nessibu then went to the Burke neighborhood where Simeneh was found shot, family members told police.