Burnsville fire: She was asphyxiated; he committed suicide

Brittany Givens-Copeland died of asphyxiation before a fire at a Burnsville apartment complex on Sunday, and the man who killed her died of smoke inhalation after setting the blaze, investigators said Tuesday. They called the case a murder-suicide.

Police would not say where the bodies were found in the gutted apartment of Adam K. Williams, 23. While it was clear that Givens-Copeland, 24, was slain before the fire, the cause of her death was attributed to "undetermined homicidal violence," Burnsville police said. Asphyxiation can mean smothering, strangulation, drowning or another form of airway blockage, said Dr. Lindsey Thomas, chief medical examiner for the Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Hastings, where the autopsies were performed.

Williams' body was identified Tuesday with a photo, but the badly burned body of Givens-Copeland was identified only with the help of dental records, Burnsville police said.

Toxicology tests could take several weeks to complete, Thomas said.

Her close friends said Givens-Copeland, 24, had dated Williams but had decided to reconcile with her baby's father, Anthony Darst. Givens-Copeland went to Williams' apartment Sunday to tell him she didn't want to see him anymore, they said.

Darst said Tuesday that beginning in 2006, he and Givens-Copeland had a relationship, but last February, he had moved to California. She learned nearly three months later of her pregnancy, while she was seeing Williams.

"They dated for two months and then he found out she was pregnant and left her," Darst said. Later, Williams had wanted to resume dating Givens-Copeland, Darst said.

But she had planned to tell Williams face-to-face that she did not want to be with him any longer, Darst said.

"She wanted to tell him she was going to work it out with me," Darst said. "She said she wanted to talk to him in person; she didn't want to tell him over the phone."

Darst said he last spoke with Givens-Copeland on Sunday afternoon, just before she was to start her shift at the Red Lobster restaurant in Burnsville. She told him she was planning to go to Darst's house after work, he said. But she never showed up.

Darst said he didn't know that she was first going to visit Williams' apartment that night. Williams lived at the Woods complex on Portland Avenue, south of County Road 42.

Williams, a Pennsylvania native, had been fired recently from his job at Red Lobster. Attempts to reach his family for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Recently, Darst said, he has been staying in the area with relatives. He plans to move back to Minnesota to care for Christian, the 4-month-old baby he had with Givens-Copeland, Darst said. The baby is now being cared for by Darst and Brittany's mother.

Darst choked up Tuesday as he recalled the last time he spoke to Givens-Copeland, on the phone Sunday.

"The last thing I said to her was that I love her," Darst said, "and the last thing she said to me was that she loved me very much."

Meeting to break up

Mandy Harri, of Lakeville, a co-worker of the slain woman, and Elyse Ganz of south Florida, who had roomed with Givens-Copeland at college in Boca Raton, Fla., said she had told both of them of her intention to break off her relationship with Williams.

Tuesday, at the Red Lobster, where Givens-Copeland and Williams had worked, many of their fellow workers were grieving. Williams had been fired from his job a couple of weeks ago over performance issues and had begun working at another restaurant.

An alarm company and two 911 callers pinpointed the start of the fire at just before 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Eight units at the building were damaged and 11 people were displaced.

Burnsville Fire Marshal Doug Nelson said tests are under way to determine whether an accelerant was used to fuel the blaze. Materials were submitted to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for tests, he said.

Givens-Copeland's family is among the prominent and pioneering members of Minnesota's black community. Her grandparents, Phebe Givens and the late Archie Givens Sr., built successful businesses in nursing homes and real estate, becoming the state's first black millionaires.

Services for Givens-Copeland will be 11 a.m. Friday at Speak The Word Church, 515 Jersey Av. S., Golden Valley.

Arrangements are pending for Williams' services, which are being handled by Washburn-McReavy, Robbinsdale Chapel.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017