Karina See Her St Paul woman charged with murder of Kou Yang after missing estranged husband’s body found buried in backyard under newly constructed shed.
A Minnesota woman living with her estranged husband is accused of fatally shooting him in the head and burying his body beneath a shed. Notice of the crime came after the man’s stepdaughter sought a welfare check on the missing man along with a neighbor complaining of a foul smell coming from the couple’s backyard.
Karina See Her, 40, was arrested Saturday in St. Paul after the body of missing husband, Kou Yang, 50, was found wrapped in ‘some type of material’ beneath a newly built shed, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Star Tribune.
Yang’s body was discovered weeks after a neighbor called cops in early July to report a foul smell emanating from near Her’s backyard garden, saying it had persisted for about a week, the complaint states.
A 911 caller then requested for a welfare check for Yang on July 22, saying he had not been spotted in several weeks. Her, who lived in the same home with Yang despite filing for divorce, also called St. Paul police the same day to say she hadn’t seen him since July 1, according to the complaint.
Yang’s 17-year-old stepdaughter also called cops to report that she suspected Her killed him while sharing a text message she received from her 12-year-old sister, the complaint stated.
Troubled marriage
The younger sister had indicated that she and Her drove to an area about 45 miles north, where Her took out a bag near holding a long object into a wooded area near Taylor Falls and came back to her car without it.
The 17-year-old stepdaughter told cops she found a hole in the backyard garden on July 2 and that it had been covered up with a tarp-like item. Her later constructed a shed over the hole, according to the complaint.
Her during police questioning, said she didn’t know where Yang was, while saying the missing man may have gone to Oklahoma in their RV because Her had threatened to get a protection order in place because she was scared of him. Her and Yang had agreed to a divorce, but were living together until the house could be sold, according to court documents cited by Pioneer Press.
Her went on to claim the hole in the yard was from a tree stump she removed. She also blamed the bad smell on the property on pigeons that were kept in a nearby coop and claimed she left a bag of food in the wooded area in Taylor Falls, according to the report.
Cops had gone to Her’s home Thursday with a cadaver dog that reacted to the shed’s handle and door, the complaint shows. It was there that the man’s remains were discovered beneath the shed on Saturday.
The missing man had been shot twice in the back of the head, according to a medical examiner in Ramsey County.
Cops also found blood on a bedroom wall that was recently painted inside the couple’s residence, as well as in the garage and laundry room, the Star Tribune reported.
Her was taken into custody Saturday on suspicion of murder, St. Paul police said.
Of note, a probable cause statement indicated police previously responded to a call to the the estranged couple’s house in June ‘because the couple had a dispute and Her had been staying in the RV.’
Her, who was charged Monday with second-degree intentional murder, remains jailed on $2 million bail ahead of a court appearance Tuesday. An attorney for the woman was not listed in court records.
