Man who died in a Strathcona fire has previously been charged with murder

STRATHCONA, Minn. (Valley News Live) – The man killed in a Roseau County house fire last week, Seddrex Gates, was on the run for allegedly killing Patricia Wright in Brooklyn Center.

“So he had a warrant for his arrest for the fire and arson and he avoided the law for three years,” said Teicha Tenhoff, Patricia Wright's sister.

On June 23, 2021, Teicha's sister Patricia was reportedly shot in the head by her ex-partner Seddrex Gates in her home in Brooklyn Center. A home she shared with Gates and their six children. Court documents say he killed Patricia, although he was never convicted.

“It's just a lot of anger and it's really unfair that he did this to our family, their children, when he could have just let them go.”

October Gates was charged with first-degree arson for setting fire to the crime scene.

“Up until the day he burned down the garage, our family had asked him for my sister's belongings. He said he would give us her stuff, but then all of my sister’s stuff ended up in the fire in the garage.”

Court documents say there was an agreement between Wright and Gates to sell the home. He later contacted another real estate agent to sell the house. He disappeared before a sale could take place. The court then ordered it to be forwarded to Teicha. Gates told officers he lit the fire because he had “bad feelings.”

“So we never got those things.”

Gates was due to be sentenced just a few weeks ago.

“As of now, in May, they found him living in Brainerd with his current girlfriend. Then he came down, he was under house arrest from May until October last year when he cut off his house arrest bracelet.”

Teicha says he doesn't want to deal with the consequences.

“He cut off the bracelets because he knew he would be convicted of arson and he didn’t want that. Since we were in court for this arson, we were there for the arson. He was on trial and was going to be sentenced. When he knew what time it was, he decided to cut off his house arrest bracelet.”

Court documents say he was on the run. Gates was found near the Canadian border, specifically Strathcona. He was dead.

“At the end of the day, prison wasn’t a punishment, I think. Because he could have been released at some point. He could still enjoy life and visits, he could still see his family. I guess he got the highest punishment possible for murdering someone. So yes, we are relieved.”

Patricia and Gates leave behind six children. Teicha says the elders know what is going on and there are no feelings involved.

“They were pretty relieved when I told them too. But they also have the same thing: 'Now we'll never know why they did this to our mother.'”

A sister and mother whose life ended tragically.

“My sister was great. She was a mother, she was a friend, she was a sister to everyone. She sometimes had more patience with her children than I did. Because there are so many of them and it can sometimes be chaotic here. But she was great.”

Teicha says the detective will probably close the case. Although Gates had a friend with whom they met to see if they could be prosecuted for hiding a fugitive.

Copyright 2024 KVLY. All rights reserved.