A Washington State man who buried his estranged wife alive before she miraculously escaped will spend more than 13 years in prison for the 2022 crime, a judge has ruled.
Chae Kyong An, 54, was sentenced on Monday to 165 months in prison and three years of community custody, Thurston County, Wash., authorities told FOX 13 Seattle.
The sentencing comes a month after he pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder, KING 5 and The Olympian reported.
In October 2022, An’s estranged wife was reportedly brutally beaten, stabbed and bound her with duct tape before An buried her alive in a wooded area, The Olympian reported, citing unspecified court documents. At one point during the attack, she called 911 through her Apple Watch, the outlet reported.
After he buried her, the woman was stuck in the makeshift grave for 12 hours, she said in a statement in court on Monday.
After she was able to get out of the bindings, she ran through the woods to a home in Olympia a little after midnight and began “pounding on their door asking for help,” Lacey police stated at the time.
She told residents that An had attempted to k!ll her after abducting her from her home and taking her into the woods, per authorities. On Monday, at his sentencing hearing, the woman recounted more details of the harrowing incident.
At the time of the attack, she pleaded with An to let her go and to think of their children, which he reportedly ignored, she said in her statement, according to KING 5.
“I don’t need anything. Today, I’m going to kill,” she stated An told her.
An was initially charged with attempted murder, domestic violence, kidnapping, assault and felony harassment, per The Olympian and FOX 13 Seattle.
In a statement during his plea agreement, An said on October 16, 2022, he “took a substantial step” to intentionally harm his wife and, after kidnapping her and taking her into the woods, he “placed her bound in a hole and covered her with branches,” The Olympian reported.
The victim says her life has been forever altered as a result of the attack.
“After that day, I and my children’s life was crushed,” she said in her statement, per KING 5. “I have to live my life with emotional trauma and health issues for the rest of my life.”
