Scared Woman Calls 9-1-1 from Her Smartwatch After Estranged Husband Buries Her Alive! [LISTEN]
One woman's horrific nightmare was ended because of her smartwatch! Last month a woman named Young An, 42, was attacked, kidnapped and left for dead by her estranged husband. Her saving grave was a call placed to 9-1-1 from her smartwatch.
According to Fox News, Chae An, 53, allegedly attacked his estranged wife in a dispute over money amid their contested divorce, tied her up with duct tape, stabbed her and buried her alive in a 19-inch-deep hole in the woods, according to police in Lacey.
Chae An was seen on surveillance cameras throughout Young's neighborhood at her house, pulling into her garage and even speeding past a police car WHILE she was bound and gagged in the back of the van.
That exact cruiser was on it's way to Young's home in response to a 9-1-1 call that had been placed by the hogtied and gagged victim through her Apple Watch. The responding officer was unaware at the time of the suspect vehicle’s description or that there had been an abduction, a Lacey Police Department spokeswoman said, and at the end of the recording, his voice can be heard on the line as he enters the home.
"The dispatch was an ‘unknown trouble call,’" Sgt. Shannon Barnes explained Wednesday. "So he had no information about anything he was walking into."
He walked into Young An's home just minutes after the alleged abduction. He found the remains of Young An's smartwatch with the call still active.
The October 16, 2022 incident allegedly started after an argument over money. The couple are in the middle of a nasty divorce and live in separate homes. Chae An ambushed Young, beat her and then bound and gagged her. When he's seen in surveillance footage moving his car into the garage, to conceal the abduction, Young was inside placing the call for help. When Chae An discovered she was making the call, he smashed her watch with a hammer, threw her in the back of the van and sped off.
Chae An allegedly drove his wife into the woods about seven miles away, threw her in a shallow grave and covered her with dirt and fallen branches. At some point, prosecutors allege, he stabbed her in the breast.
Hours later, after sundown and with Chae An inside his van, Young An crawled out of the hole, ran through the woods for a half hour and finally found a good Samaritan who called 911.
The first deputy on scene found her cowering behind a shed.
"When Young realized the deputy was law enforcement, she sprinted at them, screaming and crying for help," according to the probable cause statement. "She grabbed onto the deputy frantically and said, ‘My husband is trying to kill me. Help me.’"
Police found Chae An in the woods about six hours later, near the shallow grave he is accused of throwing his wife into. Police found fragments of the Apple Watch stuck to duct tape recovered at the scene.
Lacey police had previously responded to the home in 2021, resulting in Chae An’s arrest. He was subjected to an order of protection, which the court later rescinded upon his wife’s request.
At the time of the crime, according to court documents, he visited the house about once a week to do laundry.
Chae An pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree domestic violence kidnapping and first-degree domestic violence assault Tuesday. He is being held without bail and due back in court on Nov. 16.
This could have ended in tragedy. We're so thankful she kept calm enough to think of a way to escape. If you, or someone you know, are a victim of domestic violence, please click here for help.
