Left: A selfie of Liara Tsai (via Instagram). Right: Google Maps satellite image of area near location of car accident where Tsai's body was found in the trunk of a woman's car on June 22, 2024 in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Inset: Margot Lewis booking photo Olmstead County Jail, Minnesota.
Margot Lewis of Iowa, recently arrested in Minnesota after a car crash led police to discover the lifeless body of a woman wrapped in a blood-spattered blanket in the back seat of the vehicle she was driving, has now been charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
The 32-year-old woman has been charged in Hennepin County District Court, according to records obtained Friday by Law&Crime and the two charges are for intentional and unintentional second-degree murder.
As Law&Crime reported on Tuesday, when officers found the body of 35-year-old Liara Tsai in the vehicle, she had one puncture wound to her neck and her body was ensconced in a blanket, tarp and a futon-like mattress. Prosecutors in Hennepin County now say that wound is from Lewis allegedly stabbing Tsai while the two were inside of Tsai's apartment in Minneapolis.
Police said surveillance footage from Tsai's apartment building close to 4:30 a.m. on June 22. According to an arrest affidavit, the driver of the vehicle was "wearing clothing that matches the clothing Defendant was wearing at the time of the crash hours later. Victim's dog was also visible and sitting on the front passenger seat. The vehicle traveled from the apartment towards the on-ramp to Interstate 94."
Tsai's dog was later found wandering the scene of the car accident.
These charges are distinct from one Lewis faces in Olmstead County for allegedly crashing the car she was driving which police say belongs to Tsai. Lewis was charged with felony interference of a dead body and detained. She remains in jail now on a $1 million bond.
It is still unclear why Lewis allegedly stabbed Tsai. Tsai's former spouse told police Lewis traveled to meet Tsai on June 21 and intended to stay with her for a little over a week. Tsai's ex-spouse described the two women's relationship as "sordid and emotionally challenging."
Police in Minneapolis searched Tsai's apartment after the crash and found a disturbing scene. A bloody plastic and metal object was found on a bed, there was antifreeze and small shovel in the home and a knife was missing from a butcher's block in Tsai's kitchen. It was nowhere to be found in the home.
After Lewis got into the single car crash and police arrived, officers had her transported to an area hospital to assess her condition. She allegedly spoke to no staff at the hospital or to police and investigators reportedly said Lewis has opted to take a "vow of silence and would prefer to communicate with sign language."
An affidavit stated in full:
Defendant did not respond verbally to any providers or officers. Investigators subsequently learned that she has taken a vow of silence and would prefer to communicate with sign language. Once at the sheriff's office, Defendant sat down on the floor, pulled her knees into her chest, lowered her head, and began to cry. Officers obtained a search warrant for evidence collection from Defendant's person. Defendant was uncooperative with the collection of evidence. When officers explained that they were going to collect evidence from her person, Defendant stood up. shut her eyes, and began feeling the floor, walls, and furniture in the room with her eyes closed. As officers tried to guide her to a chair in the room, she became combative, pushing and kicking at officers. When officers informed her that they were going to take fingernail clippings from her, Defendant balled up her hands in an attempt to prevent access to her nails.
She appears next in court on July 5 in Olmstead County. It is unclear if she has retained an attorney.
Steven Seuling, who told the press that Tsai was a DJ he sometimes hired for events, spoke very fondly of Tsai and said she was "much more" than a DJ. He described her as a "community and trans activist."