College graduate, 26, shot dead at Fresno house party after blazing fight with woman

A young woman with a future in medicine was shot dead after a heated exchange at a Fresno house party, cops said.

According to police detectives, 26-year-old Marione Tsegay got into an argument with 24-year-old Nemadia Knuckles before gunshots were heard.

One of the partygoers attempted to drive Tsegay to the hospital, but the vehicle was intercepted by a fire truck in the area of Fruit and Shields avenues around 9:20 p.m. Saturday. The recent college grad suffered at least one gunshot wound, according to The Fresno Bee.

Paramedics attempted life-saving efforts on Tsegay as she was rushed to Community Regional Medical Center, but she was later pronounced dead.

Both Tsegay and Knuckles were identified to the public by the Fresno Police Department on Monday. The suspect, Knuckles, was arrested at a Wendy’s restaurant near Blackstone and Weldon avenues around 11 p.m. Saturday, per The Bee.

Knuckles was booked on suspicion of murder, and her bail set at $1 million.

Tsegay worked as a physical therapy aide at Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital and graduated from California State University, Fresno in August 2023, according to her LinkedIn. She studied kinesiology and exercise science in college. She’s seen in graduation photos wearing a “first generation” sash.

She also worked for several years at McDonald’s, rising to the position of assistant general manager.

A pastor who said his sister had been friends with Tsegay said her life was taken “far too soon.”

“Marione, your life mattered. Your accomplishments mattered. Your dreams mattered. Your smile mattered. Your presence mattered. And your absence matters. May the memory of the life you lived remind all of us to love harder, forgive quicker, hold our people closer, check on one another more often, and never take another day or another person for granted,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Friend of Tsegay, Victoria Criner, said she was always “so sweet” to her and valued her “creativity.”

“We may not have been the closest or spent a ton of time together, but every encounter I had with you was filled with nothing but kindness. You were always such a light, and I’m forever grateful that our paths crossed and that I was able to meet you through the boys,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Fresno police say anyone with information can contact Fresno Police Department Homicide Detective A. Barragan at 559-621-2449 or Detective R. Gallegos at 559-621-2451.

Fresno is located in Central California’s San Joaquin Valley and has a population of around 550,000 people.

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