A miraculous tale of escape has made headlines in the US. According to the case details, an armed forces veteran kidnapped his estranged wife from her home in Washington state, bound her arms and legs with duct tape, stabbed her in the chest, and buried her alive in the woods. How she escaped seems straight out of a movie.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast, the man’s motive was money, as he was bent on keeping his pension money out of her hands. Young Sook An, 42, managed a miraculous escape, fleeing the woods after several hours covered in dirt and appearing at a stranger’s door for assistance.
Chae Kyong An, 53, is now facing attempted first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, and felony harassment-threat to kill charges, all with a domestic violence enhancement.
How it Happened
Young’s ordeal began on October 16 at around 1 PM when police were called to a report of “unknown trouble” at a home in Lacey, Washington, that Young shares with the couple’s two children, ages 20 and 11. According to civil court records, she had filed for divorce over the summer.
According to the affidavit, the 911 operator told officers that a woman “was heard screaming, sounded ‘gagged,’ and could not talk,” and that “banging and struggling” could be heard in the background. It said the screaming abruptly stopped and it became “completely quiet.”
The address was located using cell tower data, but when officers arrived, they found the house empty and the garage door open, according to the affidavit. Inside, there were “signs of a disturbance,” and the front door was unlocked. Authorities knew the address had a “previous history of domestic violence,” and a records check revealed that Young had a no-contact order against Chae, which had been rescinded by the courts.
While officers were still on the scene, the warring couple’s two children returned home. They claimed Chae came by once a week to do his laundry and that his minivan was in the driveway when they and Young arrived home from church. They didn’t see Chae in the house, so the kids went to Goodwill and Baskin-Robbins.
Young’s cellphone sent an emergency notification to her daughter and a friend a few minutes after the kids left. When Chae stepped out of the room for a moment, Young used her Apple watch to dial 911 and send notifications to her emergency contacts. When Chae returned, he allegedly smashed the device with a hammer and dragged her out of the house.
When cops arrived, Young was nowhere to be found, and Chae had also vanished.
Used Watch to Dial 911
Young’s cellphone sent an emergency notification to her daughter and a friend a few minutes after the kids left. When Chae stepped out of the room for a moment, Young used her Apple watch to dial 911 and send notifications to her emergency contacts. When Chae returned, he allegedly smashed the device with a hammer and dragged her out of the house.
When cops arrived, Young was nowhere to be found, and Chae had also vanished.
Young, however, showed up at an unknown person’s house in Lacey at 12:51 a.m. on Oct. 17. She arrived at a stranger’s house after a 20- to 30-minute trek through the woods and pounded frantically on the door.
When cops arrived, she “had difficulty recalling an exact account of the events and specific directions of travel,” according to the affidavit, but “recalled coming out of the woods near the home, and Desirae’s house being the first home she found.”
When Young realised the deputy was law enforcement, she ran at them, screaming and crying for help, according to the affidavit. “She grabbed the deputy and yelled angrily, ‘My husband is trying to kill me.’” Please assist me.’ She still had duct tape around her neck, lower face, and ankles. Her legs, arms, and head had extensive bruising, and her clothing and hair were covered in dirt… When the deputy spoke with Young, she appeared to be in extreme distress [sic] and trauma.” “My husband is still somewhere in the woods!” she exclaimed.
According to the affidavit, Chae became angry and asked his estranged wife to leave while discussing “their divorce and money” at her home the day before.
“Young stated that she went into her bedroom to change, and that while in the upstairs master bedroom, Chae attacked her, punched her in the head multiple times, and threw her to the ground,” according to the affidavit. “Chae then tied her hands behind her back with duct tape and taped her eyes, thighs, and ankles,” Young explained.
Chae then left the room, and Young dialled 911 with her Apple Watch. She “could hear the dispatcher talking and was attempting to communicate but her mouth was covered so all she could do was yell.” Chae returned and dragged her body down the hallway and down the stairs to the floor in front of the garage door, Young said. Chea realised she was wearing her Apple watch, so he struck it with a hammer and then struck her wrists,” Young said.
According to the affidavit, Chae then forced Young into his van and drove her to a secluded area in the woods.
“Young said she could hear Chae digging in the dirt and he stabbed her breasts with a sharp object,” it says. “Young said she was drug [sic] and put into the ground. Young said a heavy tree was put on top of her. Young said she could see it was daylight. Young said after being put in the ground she could hear her husband walking around the hole and dirt being put on top of her. Young said she would wiggle around to prevent the dirt from being on her face. Young said she had a hard time breathing and tried to keep the dirt off her face,” the affidavit said.
She didn’t know how long she had been there, but she told investigators she had been “in the ground for a few hours.” Young was able to wiggle free of her restraints and crawl out of the hole after dark. She eventually made her way to safety.
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