A man was shot to death in his Inver Grove Heights home over the weekend after the suspect claimed a dispute turned violent over an erotic massage from a woman, according to charges filed Tuesday.
Logan D. Slack and Fotini A. West, both 25 and from Minneapolis, were charged in Dakota County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Michael Chang-Beom Lee, 43, whose body was found by police early Saturday at his residence in the 2100 block of E. 78th Court.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said that Lee died shortly before 2:30 a.m. from a gunshot wound to the torso.
Slack and West remained jailed ahead of court appearances on Oct. 5. Slack's bail was set at $700,000 and West's at $300,000. Lawyers for neither defendant commented Tuesday on the allegations.
The two and a 30-year-old man from Monticello, Minn., were arrested when police officers responding to the address stopped the car they were in as it left the scene. The Monticello man has since been released from jail and has not been charged.
According to the charges:
A caller to 911 shortly after 2 a.m., later determined to be Lee, was screaming "help me" and "they are trying to get in my house." The dispatcher said the call soon went silent, and it sounded as if the phone was outside.
Officers went to the back of the home and saw that the glass to the interior of two doors was shattered. They entered and saw bloody shoe prints on the carpet, then located Lee dead in the basement bathroom.
An officer located a vehicle parked near the home, and its occupants reported seeing an unfamiliar SUV parked in the cul-de-sac with the engine running.
The description of the vehicle led to police stopping it a couple of blocks from the crime scene. Slack, West and the third person initially jailed were inside.
West was in the passenger seat and had blood on her arms, hands and chest. She told police that Lee assaulted her as she tried to leave. She showed an officer several cuts under both her arms near her biceps. The woman said she called Slack before Lee carried her out of the home.
An officer took a photo of the soles on Slack's shoes, and the tread matched the pattern of the bloody shoe prints in Lee's home.
In a jailhouse interview, Slack said he drove West to Lee's home "for the purpose of giving him an erotic massage ... in exchange for money," the charges read. West came out and told Slack that Lee assaulted her and wouldn't pay her.
Slack, armed with a revolver, forced his way in the home. He and West confronted Lee in the locked basement bathroom. Slack pulled the trigger once, but the chamber was empty. A second pull shot Lee in the back.
Slack said he shot Lee to stop him from calling 911 and "to obtain [Lee's] cellphone to ensure electronic payment for the massage," the charges continued.
A police search of Slack's SUV turned up a revolver and what police believe to be Lee's cellphone.
