Above: Simon Bahta Asfeha (R) has been added to America’s
Most Wanted list, intensifying the search to find him for the
killings of Seble Tessema (left) and their 3-year-old daughter.
Update: Simon Bahta Arrested in New York City
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Sunday, April 18, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Police in Alexandria, Virginia, have turned to America’s Most Wanted TV show in an effort to locate Simon Bahta Asfeha, the prime suspect in the grisly murder of his girlfriend – 27-year old Seble Tessema – and their 3-year-old daughter.
According to the suspect’s profile on the crime show’s fugitives list, Asfeha, who has been known to use the name Simon Bahta, “may have sought refuge in the large Washington, D.C., area Ethiopian community or in a homeless shelter.”
Police were respondeding to reports of domestic disturbance on April 11, 2010 at a high-rise complex in Alexandria’s West End neighborhood when they discovered the mother and her child dead, with their throats slashed, according to media reports. “They found two victims deceased on an apartment on the 14th floor. We’re investigating the case as a suspicious death right now,” said Deputy Chief of Alexandria Police Blaine Corle.
Watch this video report from Fox DC:
Read the case on America’s Most Wanted Web site.
Simon Bahta may be driving a 1999 silver Acura with Virginia tags XKS-1522. Anyone with information is asked to call the Hotline at 1-800-CRIME-TV. The show’s website notes that callers can remain anonymous.
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Related – Tadias Magazine’s editorial published on Wednesday, March 31, 2010:
Re: The Recent String of High-Profile Violent Crimes Involving Ethiopian Immigrants (Video)
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This is out of character for any sane person to commit such a crime to his own sibling and baby mother. The Virginia Ethiopian community should participate in the upcoming community awareness program to adress the obstacles and obligations within the community. Please visit http://www.ecdcinternational.org/About_the_Conference.pdf
Thank you Kef. I will pass on this information to friends, family and church.
This is beyond tragic. It is insanity.
(The name sounds like) he’s Eritrean.
Hannah S,
His origin is the least concern of all. This is a horrific and savage act of crime aganist a young mother and her child.
My heart is so heavy!!! How a human being has a rage of this magnitude is beyond me. How come a connection/emotion between a father and a Child did not kick in? And for you Hannah, what has the crime got to do with where he’s from?
To Fegegta,
He’s Eritrean so don’t confuse it with Ethiopian. It’s like saying Tunisian and Moroccan in the same sentence. These are 2 different countries but the people look similar. The crime is horrible REGARDLESS of where the animal is from.
Besmeab, bewold, bewomenfes, kidus….. Hope justice catches up soon!
who cares which country he came from or his natinality;…whichever way you flip it, he killed his wife and child. It doen’t change the fact if he is/was Ethio, Eritrea or from Mississippii?
I cannot believe a person has a heart to do such a thing. Whoever gives him shelter should think about what he/she would do if something similar happens to their loved ones. Bring him to justice. He deserves to be locked up and think about what he did throughout his life.
Evil knows no borders or nationalities. Yes, the man’s name “Simon Bahta” sounds very much like Eritrean and the poor woman “Seble Tessema” is most definitely Ethiopian. So, just like millions of others, it was a mixed relationship. But their nationality is besides the point. This was a horrible and horrific crime. I can’t get it out of my head. All of us face personal troubles on a daily basis for many reasons – money, relationship issues, extended family problems, etc. Life is not easy, but to loose it the way this guy did is beyond comprehension. Just pure evil.
dude stop the denationalization of this story…
He is Ethiopian deal with it.
This is very sad news, but what is the solution? What we need is a good and healthy social network in the community through churches (both orthodox and otherwise), mesjids, synagogues and non-religious community centers. We need to be able to provide shimglena (advise to couples who may be experiencing domestic problems), to provide temporary finacial assistance to those who needed it, and community banks that can give people easy access to cerdit, etc… Just thinking out loud.
What exactly is the role of these publicly funded and so-called “Ethiopian community centers?” Where are they during tragic times like this one?
Wow, how cruel. Some people can be so heartless. Two beautiful human-beings have been butchered with a knife like animals. Obviously this guy is unstable and very dangerous. He needs to be captured, sooner than later.
It is very shameful seeing ppl fight on the origin of somebody putting the deceased aside. You ppl better seek advice from your doctor before things get too late. We in Ethiopia should learn so many good things not such disgusting things from some in USA.
Hi there,
I hate to add to the “denationalization of this story” (whatever this means). If his name was Jara Tolosa, like me, instead of Simon Bahta Asfafa, would you have a hard time figuring out his Ethnic identity? I don’t think so. And why do people cringe when their fellow country men’s identity is reveled for criminal activity. It sounds so disingenuous to say that “He is Ethiopian, deal with it”. Because he is not. I know his family and they are of Eritrean of Ethiopian origin or Ethiopian of Eritrean origin. However you say it.
WOW you’re so evil!
The child attended the same daycare and was in the same class as my child. It’s such a sad loss.
First of all, my heart goes out to their family and frends. The man is savage and heartless, therefore he deserves no place in this world. Justice should be served and it better be no less than capital punishment! I dont know about you but there seems to be a pattern here…I think the Habesha community in VA, MD, and DC should do an outreach program to address these issues.
Betam asdengachi !!!!!!!! But why this all….?
Uhhh…….what a tradgedy! meanale hodu? when he did this.
He could be a psychiatric case. The reason why he killed his wife could be jealousy or anything you can imagine. But no earthly reason for killing his own off-spring. The only plausible explanation one may come up with is that he may have a bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, manic depression what have you. Let the psychiatrists work on it. Anyways, it is a real tragedy.
Let me first express my deepest condolence to the family of the victims of this tragic incident. What happened here is heartbreaking and truly horrifying.
Having said that. however, let me caution and remind everyone that in the United States of America, all suspects are presumed innocent until they are found guilty in a court of law. Every person in this country is entitled to a vigorous legal defense. In this case, this particular individual is suspected of committing this alleged crime.
The words “suspect” and “alleged” are very important here. A “suspect” is someone who is seen with suspicion. To “allege” is to accuse someone with a crime that has yet to be proven. Now, in this case, Alexandria police department is suspicious that Mr. Asfafa might have committed this ‘alleged” crime. The burden of proof is on the government to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.
As to the person’s nationality, as far as the law is concerned, that is absolutely irrelevant. However, his cultural background – such as rituals, revenge killing, dealing with shame, etc – may become part of the individual’s defense or the case against him. We need to learn a lot more about the nature and status of Mr. Asfaha’s relationship with the deceased at the time of this unfortunate incident.
My strong advise to Mr. Asfafa is to turn himself in immediately and begin facing the “alleged” accusations in court.
He is absolutely a beast.
The nationality matters because if he’s not Ethiopian, they’re probably not going to get very far looking for him in the Washington, D.C., Ethiopian community, where they seem to think he might be seeking refuge.
It is very painfull for all of human beings to hear this bad news. This is nonsense murderer.
It’s heartbreaking indeed: (People snap and have issues all the time, but through faith and fear of god we referian from evils. Let’s love one another and do good deeds:)
All of you that have concerns about his nationality (even though it dosen’t matter) find out this coming Friday on America’s most wanted.
Peace
He is Abesha, they are all Abesha.
This is a very sad story. But what is even more depressing is that some of you here are detached from humanity. These kind of stories should remind all of us how fragile our mind is. And how unpredictable all our lives are. The dude probably went beyond the rail in a moment of rage. Now, he has passed the point of no-return. Finished.
First I wish the dead to rest in peace. He may also be hiding in the Eritrean Community, that is probably why it became hard for the police to locate him.
Are we sure that he killed his own blood and flesh having a normal mind? This crime is worst of its kind, The Satanic Control of the mind! Have we ever tried to take care of our fellow country people? … did we help each other in our problems in time of need? …how many more of our people are in desperation? We need to pro-act and not retro-act. Help each other; talk to each other, avoid prejudice and educate each other!
Why the heck is his nationality important? PPL you’all crazy!
J.Tolosa,
Thank you for putting it right and I hope people start caring for one another, instead of worrying about their nationality. Regarding the monster, I hope (justice) catches up with him, regardless of where he is from.
I think something happened to this guy that we don’t understand. Don’t judge folks. Don’t judge. I like the what the defense attorney said.
Very Sad! There is no reason in this world to do this.
These domestic violence related crimes are happening more frequently within the Ethio-Eritrean communities in the United states.
I have been hearing a lot of people discussing about this crime. Some people have been arguing that the suspect is Ethiopian and others says he is Eritrean. In my opinion, it is stupid to associate this crime with the citizenship of the suspect. What realy matters is the crime.
May God rest the victims in peace.
What a looser! Killing is by no means is a solution to a problem. But murdering your own lover and child is beyond human. It is a tragedy and a terrible tragedy. What was going on in his mind? Anyone who shelters such a person after such act is equally criminal. Let him surrender and pay for the misdeeds he did.
May their souls rest in peace!
Did you know the man got caught? – ABC 7 News
To Whom it may concern:
Please keep the pictures of the victims (Seble Tessema and her daughter) posted on the wall of this Monster’s prison cell (so he can be reminded of what he has done). That will be a good (punishment) for him.
Now he knows that he can run but he can’t hide forever.
Those of you who have been trying to be saints, if you hear a news about Malaysia and hear the same news about Ethiopia do you listen to it the same way? And do you feel the same way? Many kill their family members including their little kids here in (USA) and commit so many brutal crimes every single day. But have you ever felt the same way you feel now? I don’t think so. There is a concept called proximity (nearness, closeness) in NEWS. And your reactions depend on how close you are for the issuse as well as of the weight of the issue. So don’t get surprised and condemn people if they ask the nationality of the murderer. I don’t think people mean they don’t care if the guy or the victims are different nationals than they are. So don’t exaggerate it. That doesn’t mean all Ethiopians are saints or all Eritreans are evil and vise versa. And don’t judge as you will be judged.
Glad that justice caught up with him. This was a horrible crime. He thought he could RUN and HIDE in NYC. The moral of the story: Don’t mess with New Yorkers and NYPD.
He is Eritrean. What’s the point of having a different nationality if you’re not willing to cliam it for good or bad? I’d like people to stop asking us to pretend that he is Ethiopian. It matters very much to us.
It does’nt really matter where he is from. What matters most is what he did. He does not have any humanity. I have a child and how someone can do this to his own kid is unthinkable.
He is Ethiopian and you’ve got to deal with it and Seble Tessema is Ethiopian too.
Don’t be so quick to judge him either, because people can be influenced by evil forces all the time. We need to pray for the victims, at the same time for him too.
I agree with Luna. Prayer for him is good because no man can do this on their own without some spirit. I wish him salvation, and rest for the souls of Seble and the daughter. And for him to learn his lesson and come to know the Lord well.
He is Eritrean just for fact’s sake. But that’s not the issue. Two people’s lives were lost and that’s a TRAGEDY. PERIOD
just watched manhunt on tv and saw how he got caught
i bet he will get the death penalty ….scumbag
In our journey to inner peace and healing, both guilt and forgiveness of self and others have a profound effect on this process. Balance in life requires letting go of past hurts and absolving the people who’ve caused them. Forgiveness is a path to freedom. It frees one from the control of the ‘offender.
Forgiveness does not change the past but it changes the pain of the past. And unlocks the door to the future. And as (Ephesians 4:32) says:
“And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
There is one lesson out of many lessons some men or women should learn from this. If you have issues, try to solve then together and if it doesn’t work, WALK AWAY. That’s it. There is no reason to end your lover’s life and childs as well
PLEASE don’t ever let this punk out. She probably told him she was leaving and he snapped
Why do you care where he’s from? No offense, but that’s really immature! The thing that matters is that 2 people were killed brutally. What Defense Attorney said is correct, but why is Asefa hiding if he isn’t guilty? Why is it so hard for him to go to court if he didn’t do it?
I hope the 2 victims rest in peace. God bless them.