The body of a 50-year-old man, who had been reported missing, was found in his and his ex-wife's backyard over the weekend. The Minnesota woman has been charged in connection with his murder.
According to Fox News, Kou Yang's body was discovered on Saturday in St. Paul. After an autopsy, it was found that Yang had been shot twice in the head. Police arrested his ex-wife Karina See Her, who has been charged with second-degree murder, not premeditated.
According to a complaint filed on Monday, when police told Her that they didn’t think Yang had left the house alive, she “did not refute the statement." She denied having an argument with Yang the night he went missing, reported Pioneer Press.
Things were not good between the two as the former couple had earlier accused each other of domestic violence. As per St. Paul police reports from January and March 2020, Yang told cops that Her had threatened to shoot him. In July 2020, Her called cops and said that Yang broke a door, which fell on her.
Joe Shannon, Violence Free Minnesota's data and communications program manager, said that they found a detailed history of abuse and controlling behavior by Yang. They see Her to be a survivor of relationship abuse, and don't consider Yang as a victim of intimate partner homicide.
In December, he filed for divorce, which was granted in February this year. But last month, Her told police that despite the divorce they were still staying together until they sold off their house.
The investigation started in July after someone called police to do a welfare check at Yang’s house as they hadn’t seen him in a few weeks. Cops went to the house and talked to Her, who said that she didn’t know about Yang's location and that he mentioned visiting his sister in Oklahoma. Her said that Yang left in the end of June. She also said that she tried reaching out to him, but her calls went straight to voicemail.
After police's suggestion, Her called 911 to file the missing persons report. On July 22, Her’s daughter called 911 and said that she hadn’t heard from her stepfather for weeks. The teen daughter had been spending time at a friend’s place since June 29, and her mom kept telling her to stay there. The girl got back home on July 2 and her mother lost her cool when she asked about Yang.
The girl soon spotted a hole being dug up where plants were previously kept in the backyard. She also saw a piece of fabric covering it. Days later, Her placed bricks over the hole and put a shed over it. When police asked Her about it, she said that she was trying to repair the patio.
She was also asked about the foul smell in her backyard around the week of July 5. Her said that there was a lot of pigeon shit. Meanwhile, Her's daughter reported to police. She thought that Her had murdered her stepfather and buried him in the backyard.
Her is currently kept in the Ramsey County jail.
