LACEY, Wash. (TCD) — A judge has sentenced a 54-year-old man to more than a decade in prison for tying his wife up, kidnapping her, and attempting to bury her alive in 2022.
The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday, April 24, that Chae An was ordered to spend 165 months — almost 14 years — behind bars after he pleaded guilty last month to attempted second-degree murder. Following his release, An must spend 36 months in community custody.
On Oct. 16, 2022, just before 1 p.m., Lacey Police Department officers responded to a home on the 3800 block of Rossberg Street Southeast for an “unknown trouble” call. The dispatcher who took the 911 call could reportedly hear “muffled screaming and sounds of a struggle” in the background. Police spoke with the children who lived at the residence and they said their parents had gone shopping. Officers went inside and found duct tape that they suspected had been used on the victim.
Lacey Police learned the victim, Young An, had a domestic violence protective order against the suspect, Chae An, her estranged husband. The department issued an endangered missing persons alert on her behalf the same day.
According to court documents cited by KCPQ-TV, Young An called 911 using her Apple Watch, but Chae An took it off her wrist and broke it with a hammer. He reportedly duct taped her hands behind her back, bound her ankles, and covered her eyes before putting her in a van and driving to a wooded area. While there, he dug a hole and forced her into the shallow grave.
Young An managed to remove the tape from her body and freed herself after 12 hours.
On Oct. 17, 2022, at around 12:50 a.m., Young An reportedly knocked on someone’s door and asked for help. The resident contacted the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, and Young An reportedly told them her husband had kidnapped her and taken her into the woods.
Chae An was initially arrested on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, harassment, and domestic violence.
KING-TV reports Young An spoke at the sentencing hearing and said, “After that day, I and my children’s life was crushed. I have to live my life with emotional trauma and health issues for the rest of my life.”
Chae An’s attorney reportedly argued his client has been “overmedicated and undertreated” for PTSD. An apologized in a statement, saying, “I wish that I could go back and never enter that house that day and walk away.”
According to KING, the judge commended the victim for her bravery in coming forward and speaking about what happened to her.
He said, “I’m sure there’s no words that describe the physical suffering and the fear and anguish over 12 hours of thinking you might lose your life and you might never see your children again. You are strong and you are brave. I am hopeful that today’s hearing will be the close of this chapter, and will make it possible to focus on your emotional and mental healing for yourself and your children.”
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Tyler Mitchell