Man's Killing in Burke Linked to Springfield Death: Police

A man's murder in Burke, Virginia, has been linked to the murder of a 22-year-old woman in Springfield and both victims were shot, Fairfax County Police confirmed on Wednesday.

A family member found Henok G. Yohannes dead inside his home on the 6400 block of Blarney Stone Court Thursday night.

Yohannes was shot in his upper body, police said. An autopsy determined the manner of death was homicide.

Sean Griffin, who lives in the neighborhood, told News4 he heard noises coming from Yohannes' home Thursday night, but he didn't think anything of it. 

"I heard multiple bangs. It was loud, you could almost feel it through the walls," Griffin said. "I thought they were moving furniture. I didn't know exactly what it was."

Just before 9 a.m. Friday, a homeowner on Cordwood Court in Burke, Virginia, saw a woman on the ground in his backyard.

The homeowner didn't recognize the woman, saw that she didn't appear to be moving and called police. The woman, Kedest Sileshi Simeneh, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene.  

Officer Monica Meeks, a spokeswoman for Fairfax County Police Department, said Simeneh suffered trauma to her upper body.

The two scenes are about two miles apart.

Police have not confirmed the relationship between Simeneh and Yohannes but said the two appear to be known to each other.

Their deaths do not appear to be random, Meeks said.

On Wednesday, police said detectives are following strong leads.

Anyone with information that can help investigators should call police. 

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