MINNEAPOLIS — Today, the Minnesota man convicted of killing a teenager in Minneapolis more than 30 years ago will be sentenced.
In May, Darrell Rea was found guilty of second-degree murder for the April 1983 death of 17-year-old Laurie Mesedahl.
Police believe Laurie was raped, driven to a train yard in North Minneapolis, and beaten to death.
At the time, DNA technology wasn't available, but a DNA match taken from Rea in 2013 matched a semen sample taken from Laurie's body.
Rea was charged in 2017 with second-degree unintentional murder.
“Lorri was your all-American, 17-year-old girl back in 1983. She was free spirited, always had a smile on her face, made us laugh," recalled Mesedahl's childhood friend Sue Baker. "Clothes, hair, spending time with her friends is what made her happy. And that’s what she was doing that last Friday night of her life with us.“
Today's sentencing hearing begins at 9 a.m.
