Tabitha Leigh Trescott was 32 and living in New Ulm, Minnesota, when she was killed at a home on Blessum Street West in the early hours of Sunday, November 2, 2025. She had been with 50-year-old volunteer firefighter Justin Reinarts at the house when a juvenile in the home called 911 just after 4:20 a.m., reporting that an intruder had broken in and shot his mother. Deputies found Tabitha and Justin in an upstairs bedroom with fatal gunshot wounds to the head and recovered two spent shotgun shells nearby.

Brown County investigators quickly identified the suspect as 45-year-old Randy Thomas Zimmerman of Courtland, Minnesota, Tabitha’s former boyfriend. Charging documents allege Zimmerman forced his way into the house, confronted the couple, and shot them at close range; one of Tabitha’s sons told investigators he heard Zimmerman shouting that he had given her a chance before the shots. Zimmerman fled, allegedly fired at pursuing deputies during a high-speed, multi-county chase into Iowa, and was arrested that afternoon in Louisa County, Iowa.

Brown County charged Zimmerman with two counts of second-degree murder. Bail was set very high and Minnesota’s Attorney General’s Office has moved to convene a grand jury in Brown County.

If anyone knew Tabitha, her children’s routines, or saw activity near 102 Blessum Street West around November 2, please share what was seen or heard.