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Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) – An Iowa woman found with a body at an accident scene in Olmsted County is now facing murder charges.

The Hennepin County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against 32-year-old Margot Lewis on Wednesday, a day after she was arraigned in Olmsted County District Court on a coroner’s warrant.

Lewis was identified as the driver of a car that crashed into the median at the intersection of Highway 42 and I-90 south of Eyota around 7:00 a.m. on June 22.

An Olmsted County Sheriff’s deputy who arrived at the scene found the body of 35-year-old Liaria Tsai in the back seat of the vehicle. The indictment against Lewis states that Tsai died from multiple stab wounds prior to the crash.

Authorities executed a search warrant on Tsai’s Minneapolis apartment around 8 p.m. Saturday night and found evidence that a violent incident had occurred in the apartment.

The murder charge filed in Hennepin County Court described a bloody scene police found in Tsai’s apartment.

Murder indictment describes bloody crime scene in murdered woman’s apartment in Minneapolis

The Minneapolis woman’s bed and bedding were “soaked with blood.” Authorities also found a bloody plastic and metal object in the bed and noticed a steak knife missing from a knife set in the apartment, the complaint states.

Surveillance camera footage shows Tsai’s vehicle – which was the car that crashed near Eyota – leaving the Minneapolis apartment complex around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, the indictment says.

The driver’s clothing matched the clothing Lewis was wearing at the scene of the accident, the complaint said. The officer investigating the accident found Tsai’s body wrapped in the back seat of the vehicle.

Accusation: Minnesota murder victim and suspect had previously had a romantic relationship

Investigators found that Lewis and Tsai had previously been romantically involved. A former spouse of Tsai’s described the relationship to investigators as abhorrent and said they knew Lewis would fly to Minneapolis on June 21 to visit Tsai, the complaint said.

Lewis has not yet made any oral statements to investigators, the indictment says.

After Lewis was medically evaluated following the accident, officers took her to the Olmsted County Law Enforcement Center, where she said she had taken a vow of silence and preferred to communicate using sign language, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit says Lewis became belligerent when investigators told her they would take a sample of her fingernails.

Murder victim’s dog found at scene of high-speed crash in Minnesota that led to discovery of body

Sergeant Troy Christianson of the State Patrol’s public information office says the accident that led to the discovery of the body is still under investigation, but the murder charge suggests Lewis Tsai’s vehicle was traveling at an estimated speed of 105 mph before colliding with the guardrail in front of the pillar that supports the Highway 42 overpass over the median of I-90.

According to the Hennepin County court document, Lewis was also walking Tsai’s dog at the time of the crash.

Police have not yet found the missing knife. The complaint gives one reason why Lewis was traveling with Tsai’s body in southeastern Minnesota.

Lewis is charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Her first appearance in Hennepin County Court has not yet been scheduled.

An Olmsted County judge set Lewis’s bail at $1 million without conditions after she made her initial court appearance for a coroner’s examination on Tuesday. Lewis’s next appearance in the Rochester-area case is scheduled for July 5.

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