Above: Rey Davis-Bell is charged with the murder of Degene
Barecha, an immigrant from Ethiopia, at Philadelphia Cheese
Steak. Davis-Bell’s trial started on Tuesday. (Seattle Times)

The Seattle Times
By Jennifer Sullivan
Neither prosecutors nor witnesses could say why Rey Davis-Bell’s alleged violent tirade two years ago wound up inside Degene “Safie” Dashasa’s cheese-steak restaurant, resulting in Dashasa’s death by gunshot at point-blank range.

Dashasa emigrated from Ethiopia about a decade ago, enrolled in online business courses and spent hours perfecting his cheese steak, his family told The Seattle Times after his slaying. Dashasa took over the restaurant after his best friend and business partner was fatally shot in his car in 2003. After Troy Hackett’s death, Dashasa changed the name of Philly’s Best Steaks and Hoagies. Hackett’s slaying has not been solved. Several months before his death, Dashasa traveled to Ethiopia and married a woman he had met through relatives. He recently had bought a house and was preparing it for his new bride, his family said.