A Washington state man who buried his estranged wife alive blamed his horrifying attack on mental illnesses and being “overmedicated and undertreated” for PTSD before a judge slapped him with a sentence of more than 13 years on Friday.
Chae Kyong An, 54, brutally beat, stabbed and then bound his wife Young An with duct tape in 2002 — despite her pleas for mercy.
Young An managed to call 911 with her Apple Watch before she was taken into the woods, where Chae put her in a shallow grave and threw dirt over her.
During Chae Kyong An’s sentencing hearing on Monday, she recounted begging Chae to stop and think of their children. She said she lay in the hole for 12 hours before she was able to muster up the strength to dig herself out, according to KING 5.
‘”I don’t need anything. Today, I’m going to kill you,”‘ she recalled him saying.
Young said she and her children still live in fear.
“After that day, I and my children’s life was crushed,” she said. “I have to live my life with emotional trauma and health issues for the rest of my life.”
She and the prosecution asked the judge to give Chae Kyong An a sentence on the higher end of the range, which was agreed to by the defense upon reaching a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to a second-degree attempted murder charge in early March.
Chae’s defense attorney also addressed the courtroom during the hearing, detailing his client’s struggles with mental illness and PTSD, which he said contributed to his client’s actions on the day of the attack.
At the time of the attack, Chae was homeless, isolated from friends and family and “overmedicated and undertreated” for his PTSD, his attorney said, adding that he lives with “regret and remorse every day.”
Chae addressed the courtroom, saying, “I wish that I could go back and never enter that house that day and walk away.”
A Thurston County Judge gave Chae Kyong An nearly a maximum sentence and ordered he have no contact order with Young An.
“The crime you pled guilty to was horrific,” a judge said. “Preventing somebody from calling for help, assaulting, restraining and burying them alive. With the plea that you offered, you acknowledged responsibility for that.”
The judge told the victim that she hoped the sentence would allow her to move forward.
“I’m sure there’s no words that describe the physical suffering and the fear and anguish over twelve hours of thinking you might lose your life and you might never see your children again,” the judge said.
“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.”