A Washington state woman escaped after her estranged husband allegedly kidnapped her from her home in Lacey, stabbed her, and buried her alive in the woods earlier this week, according to court documents.
Young An, 42, was allegedly abducted from her home by her estranged husband, Chae Kyong An, 53, on Sunday, October 16. He is said to have stabbed his former spouse before burying her alive in a shallow grave, essentially leaving her for dead, according to reports.
Young’s hours-long nightmare began Sunday afternoon, when her husband, Chae allegedly attacked her in her home during a fight about their divorce and finances, she told cops.
She said she managed to call 911 with her Apple Watch and sent a notification to her emergency contacts when he left the bedroom after duct-taping her, according to NBC News.
Chae then allegedly dragged her into the garage, where he broke her watch with a hammer and drove off with her, according to officials.
Young — who has a domestic violence protection order against her estranged husband — told investigators she heard him digging in the dirt before he stabbed her in her chest.
“She was drug and put into the ground. … A heavy tree was put on top of her. After being put into the ground she could hear her husband walking around the hole and dirt being put on top of her,” filed court document revealed.
Young said she managed to breathe by squirming to keep the dirt from suffocating her as she lay in the shallow grave for several hours before finally succeeding in tearing off the tape.
She took off running for about 30 minutes and found the home where she was saved just before 1 a.m. Monday.
The woman told police her husband had threatened her before, telling her that he would “rather kill her than give her his retirement money,” the probable cause statement said.
Investigators searched the area in the woods the victim described and found a ‘hole consistent with a grave type design,’ along with duct tape and the woman’s hair, KING 5 reported.
Cops spent hours hunting for Young after responding to her 911 call shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday and finding the garage door open, Lacey police said in a release.
Young’s children told police that their mom and dad were at the home but left to go to the store about a half-hour prior to their arrival, cops said.
“Officers cleared the home and no one was located. There was used duct tape found in the home; it is believed to have been used on the victim,” the statement added.
Police issued a missing-person alert, canvassed the area for the woman, and recovered several surveillance videos.
Chae was arrested after a hiker spotted his 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan on a local trail.
The suspect has been held without bail and faces charges of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree kidnapping, and first-degree assault, prosecutors said in the affidavit.
Watch the video report below for more details:
Sources: DailyWire, NBC News, KING 5
