Another sizzling hot day in Shakopee, Minnesota, about 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis. If you were ever going to try to fry an egg on the sidewalk, July 28, 2021, would be the day for the experiment.
Two days before, it was 86 in the afternoon; the next day, it was 84; this day, the TV weather people say the temperature should hit 90.
Overnight the temperature didn’t fall below 77. Same as the night before.
So, it’s safe to say that Minneapolis is on edge today.
The lucky ones wear shorts, sandals, flip-flops, and/or tank tops.
People working nine-to-five, no matter the color of their collar, are less fortunate. They’re walking on broiling hot pavement, feeling the sweat drip down their backs, wiping the perspiration off their foreheads before it can run in rivers into their eyes.
So people walking this afternoon near Shakopee’s 137-acre Memorial Park have better things to do than think about the two people sitting in a Chrysler 300 sedan at about 2 p.m.
The millennial walking by might describe the man and woman as “an older couple.” He’s 44 years of age and has a thick neck, massive shoulders, and upper back muscles that are the envy of many of the pencil necks in the crowd. His hair’s cut as close to his scalp as possible without being clean-cut.
The woman in the car is eleven years older, about a decade away from her first social security check, if she waits till she’s 65 to collect.
Thick, bouncy blonde curls, bright smile. Hard to miss.
And, oh boy! Do people love her!
A co-worker would describe the woman as “the kindest to everyone. I haven’t met anyone as genuinely kind…since my late grandma.”
The couple’s talking, animated, but who will notice on a day like today? All most people care about is finding another bottle of water and air conditioning as fast as possible.
The man and woman in the Chrysler pull out of Memorial Park at about 2:30. Who will notice? Just another car. Another couple. Where is the nearest A/C?
But then, the car stops about a mile later at the intersection of Spencer Street and Fourth Avenue.
Then, everyone notices. Even though, at first, the pedestrians avert their eyes and walk a little faster some running, they can’t help but see what’s happening.
The car is in the middle of the intersection, and the man driving is standing outside the open passenger door, bashing his female companion with a dumbbell.
He raises his hand with the weight above his shoulder and brings it crashing down. Bam! Bam! Bam!
People are stopping now. Staring. How can they help but watch? But will they watch or help?
They all see what happens next.
The man produces a large knife, almost as big as a sword, and starts chopping the woman in the passenger seat.
The blood that doesn't spray over the madman wielding a machete pours out of the Chrysler.
This maniac is soaked with sweat, grunting, growling, and groaning from the exertion. Finally, as the crowd watches, he finishes.
The man pulls the woman’s body — decapitated now — out of the Chrysler, tosses it on the ground, reaches back into the car, grabs the woman’s head by the hair, and throws it down beside her body.
The crowd is frozen. Who’s going to move first? Everyone waits for everyone else.
Damn.
The man with the dumbbell and the machete doesn’t wait. He gets back into the Chrysler and drives off.
Finally, someone calls 911.
Shakopee police officers arrive and find the body of 55-year-old America Thayer, on the sidewalk, along with her head.
Doesn’t take them long to arrest her on-again, off-again boyfriend, 42-year-old Alexis Saborit. They find him near the motel Alexis calls "home."
America’s friends are devastated. Nicky Kendrick, who compared her to her grandma, said in 2021, “I’m devastated. There are no words.”
Jamie Worley worked with America at MyPillow.
"I went there today and went to the store and got her a rose and a teddy bear to put on her desk," said Jamie. "When I got there, I didn't even look at any other of my co-workers. I just stood at her desk with my head down. Everyone was just crying. It was a very emotional day, and it still is."
Alexis didn’t waste more than a few dimes of taxpayer money.
He waived his right to a jury trial in January 2023 and was convicted of first-degree murder.
A review hearing is scheduled for June 1, 2023, but according to Minnesota law, it should be a slam dunk.
Alexis Saborit is going to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Bet on it.
But of course, all of the above is only part of the story.
The question that still has to be answered is, “Why?”
Okay. Here goes.
Judge Caroline H. Lennon, who found Alexis guilty, described in the court record the relationship between Alexis and America as “tumultuous” and said it was marked by fighting, arguments, and abuse.
America wanted out.
Alexis knew it but wasn’t willing to let her go.
The motive?
As simple as one of those “if I can’t have her, nobody can have her” rages that often wind up with someone dead.
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