Jurors on Friday found Derrick John Thompson guilty of all charges in his murder trial for the high-speed crash that killed five young women nearly two years ago.

The verdict was reached after about nine hours of deliberations over two days.

Thompson, the 29-year-old son of a former St. Paul state representative, is guilty of five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide for operating a motor vehicle in a grossly negligent manner and leaving the scene of an accident.

Prosecutors say Thompson was driving 95 mph on Interstate 35W in a rented Cadillac Escalade SUV when he passed a Minnesota State Trooper, exited on Lake Street at 116 mph, and then ran a red light at Second Avenue, crashing into the victims’ Honda Civic just after 10 p.m. June 16, 2023.

Pronounced dead at the scene were Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, 20, of St. Louis Park; Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali, 17, of Bloomington; Sahra Liban Gesaade, 20, of Brooklyn Center; Sagal Burhaan Hersi, 19, of Minneapolis, and Siham Adan Odhowa, 19, of Minneapolis. They were returning from preparing for a friend’s wedding, which was to be the next day.

In September, prosecutors added the five counts of third-degree murder, which is defined in state statute as “perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life.”

“Members of the jury, not every murder is calculated or considered,” Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Paige Starkey said Thursday in the state’s closing arguments. “Not every murder is directed at a particular person or people.”

This is a breaking news story. Check back for more details.

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