Kou Yang Murder Case: Evidence, Charges, and Sentence

The Kou Yang murder case ended with his former wife, Karina See Her, pleading guilty to second-degree intentional murder and being sentenced in March 2022 to 261 months — roughly 22 years — in prison for shooting the 50-year-old St. Paul man twice in the back of the head and burying him beneath a shed in the backyard of the home they had shared.¹

How Kou Yang Was Found

Yang was last seen around June 30, 2021. He and See Her had divorced that February after he filed for dissolution in December 2020, but they were still living together on the 1100 block of Kennard Street while they fixed up the property to sell.² Yang’s family reported him missing on July 23, 2021, saying they had not heard from him since around July 3.³

The night before that report, See Her’s 17-year-old daughter had called 911 for a welfare check. She told the dispatcher she had not heard from her stepfather in weeks and believed her mother may have killed him and “buried him in the garden.”⁴ The teenager had been sent to stay at a friend’s house on June 29. When she returned on July 2, a security camera was gone from the garage and a tarp-covered hole had been dug in a bed where plants had been growing. Over the following days she watched her mother cover the area with bricks and concrete and put a shed on top of it.²

When police spoke with See Her, she said Yang had gone to visit his sister in Oklahoma and that his belongings and vehicles were gone.⁴ Neighbors had been complaining of a foul smell from the backyard since shortly after July 5. See Her blamed “pigeon poop.” A cadaver dog alerted near the shed on July 29, and on July 31, 2021, a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension crime scene team excavated beneath the shed and recovered Yang’s body.²

Cause of Death and Evidence in the House

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner determined that Yang died from cerebral laceration and destruction caused by two gunshot wounds to the back of his head. Investigators found blood spatter on a bedroom wall that had been painted over, blood on a window, and blood inside a carpet-cleaning machine in the garage.⁴

What the Children Told Investigators

The 17-year-old said her mother became angry when asked about Yang and suddenly announced they would move to Milwaukee. She told investigators it was “entirely out of character” for Yang to disappear for more than a day or two, that he always took his red truck when he left, and that he would never have gone without saying goodbye or leaving his tools behind. Her 12-year-old sister also texted her on July 22 saying “Mommy is suspicious,” and told investigators their mother had driven her to the Taylors Falls area, put on rubber gloves, and left a trash bag with an unknown long object in the woods. See Her later told police the bag held only food trash from her car.²

Arrest and Charges

Karina See Her, then 40, was arrested on July 31, 2021, the same day Yang’s body was recovered.⁵ Ramsey County prosecutors charged her with second-degree intentional murder, not premeditated, and she was held in lieu of $2 million bail.⁶ After her arrest she tried to steer investigators elsewhere, telling police there was “a hole in the basement” that was “plugged up” and making a reference to “a dead body down there.”²

A Contested History Between the Couple

Court records showed a documented pattern of conflict. Both Yang and See Her had filed orders for protection against each other, and the couple had mutual accusations of domestic violence and legal disputes over their shared property. See Her had also expressed concern about being “short of cash” because of unemployment and a possible foreclosure.²

After reviewing court records, Violence Free Minnesota, a nonprofit that tracks intimate partner homicides, chose not to include Yang in its count. Joe Shannon, the group’s data and communications program manager, said they found “a long, detailed, and documented history of abuse and controlling behavior by Kou Yang” and considered See Her “a survivor of relationship abuse.” Shannon added that Yang’s own orders for protection against See Her reflected a pattern in which “an abusive tactic is to use the criminal legal system to control a partner.”² The organization’s determination did not affect the criminal proceedings.

Plea and Sentence

See Her pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder in February 2022.⁷ On March 29, 2022, Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro sentenced her to 261 months in prison, with credit for 244 days served. Under Minnesota law she must serve at least two-thirds of the sentence behind bars before becoming eligible for supervised release on the remaining third.¹ She is incarcerated at the Shakopee Correctional Facility.

At sentencing, Yang’s daughter Pasha Yang told the court her father was a “caring and hardworking person” who worked as an HVAC technician and ran his own business. She said “no human being deserves such a horrible death” and that she was “not happy” with the sentence, arguing See Her deserved life in prison.¹

1
Pioneer Press. St. Paul Woman Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison for Killing Ex-Husband, Burying Body in Backyard
2
Pioneer Press. Missing Man’s Former Wife Charged With Murder After Search Turns Up Body in St. Paul Yard
3
FOX 9. Wife Arrested After Missing St. Paul Man Found Dead Over Weekend
4
KARE 11. Charges: St. Paul Woman Killed Ex-Husband, Buried in Backyard
5
CBS Minnesota. St. Paul Woman Gets 21 Years for Murdering Ex-Husband, Burying Him in Backyard
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Star Tribune. Murder Charge: St. Paul Woman Shot Ex-Husband, Buried Him in Their Back Yard
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KSTP. St. Paul Woman Receives Prison Sentence for Murdering Ex-Husband