LACEY, Wash. — The Lacey woman who said she escaped from her estranged husband told police he attempted to bury her in the woods after she was kidnapped.
Chae Kyong An faces potential charges of attempted murder in the first degree, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, and felony harassment - threat to kill. He has not been officially charged.
According to probable cause documents, the 42-year-old woman told police that around 1 p.m. on Oct. 16, she came home from church with her two children to find Kyong An. She told her children to leave so she could talk with him about their divorce and money.
Kyong An became angry and he was asked to leave.
Kyong An then allegedly attacked her, punching her multiple times before trying her up with duct tape as well as putting duct tape over her eyes, according to probable cause documents.
The woman used her Apple watch to contact 911 and sent an emergency notification to her emergency contacts.
She was loaded into a van and driven into the woods where she was put into a hole and buried. As Kyong An was putting dirt on her, she told police she continued to wiggle to keep it off her face.
She did not know how long it was, "but she was in the ground for a few hours," probable cause documents state.
When it was dark, during the early morning hours of Oct. 17, she was able to get the tape off her arms and escaped.
She found a house, where she asked the residents to call police. She was taken to a hospital for treatment of her injuries, which were non-life-threatening.
Kyong An was arrested the same day. He was later booked into Thurston County Jail.
On Oct. 18, investigators found the location the woman described in a clearing in the woods west of Rainier Road and south of Stedman Road, south of Lacey. On the edge of the clearing was a mound of trees - under the trees was a "hole consistent with a grave type design," probable cause documents state. Duct tape was located in the hole, along with the woman's hair.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, text START to 88788 or visit thehotline.org for additional guidance and resources.
Visit the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence website for additional local resources.