Murder charges filed against woman accused of crashing victim's car on I-90 with body inside

Murder charges were filed Wednesday afternoon against an Iowa woman who is accused of killing another woman in her Minneapolis apartment and crashing the victim's car on a southern Minnesota interstate hours later with the body inside.

Margot G. Lewis, 32, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with two counts of second-degree murder, intentional and unintentional, in connection with an attack late last week in the stabbing death of 35-year-old Liara Tsai inside Tsai's Minneapolis apartment.

Lewis, of North Liberty in east-central Iowa, was also charged Tuesday in Olmsted County, where the crash occurred Saturday morning, with felony interference of a dead body. She remains jailed there in lieu of $1 million bail.

Neither criminal complaint makes mention of a motive for the killing. Tsai's former spouse told police that Lewis flew in from Boston on June 21 for an eight-day stay with Tsai, the murder charges noted. The former spouse added that Lewis and Tsai had a "sordid and emotionally challenging" relationship, according to Wednesday's charges.

Steven Seuling, a friend of Tsai's, told the Star Tribune on Tuesday that she worked for him at times as a DJ at various events and added that she was a "community and trans activist. She was very, very much more than just a DJ."

According to charges in both counties and a related court filing:

A deputy sent to the crash scene along Interstate 90 saw Tsai's subcompact car in the center median and Lewis sitting in a folding chair that was provided by a bystander. The deputy determined that Lewis was speeding when she hit a guardrail that surrounded the pillars of an overpass.

In a search warrant affidavit filed by the State Patrol seeking permission to inspect the car's various data recording devices, a patrol sergeant wrote that evidence at the crash scene indicated that Lewis "traveled for quite some time [in the median] prior to striking the pillar barrier. The vehicle did not appear to make any maneuvers to prevent the crash."

The deputy opened the car's passenger-side back door and saw Tsai's body on the folded-down seat. It was wrapped in a bed sheet, blanket, futon-style mattress and a tarp. She was cold to the touch.

A dog was also wandering around the crash scene, and its microchip included Tsai's address in the 700 block of E. 16th Street.

Minneapolis investigators searched Tsai's apartment and found blood in several places. A bloodied plastic and metal object was on the bed. On a table were a container of antifreeze and a small shovel, items typically kept in a vehicle's trunk. A knife was missing from a butcher block in the kitchen and not found in the residence.

Following the crash about 7 a.m. south of Eyota, Lewis was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. She spoke to neither hospital staff nor law enforcement. Investigators learned that "she has taken a vow of silence and would prefer to communicate with sign language," the murder complaint read.

Upon being moved to the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office, Lewis sat in a ball on the floor and cried.

When told that officers intended to carry out "evidence collection from [her] person," Lewis stood with her eyes closed and started feeling the floor, walls and furniture, the charges continued. She then pushed and kicked at officers who tried to lead her to a chair. She balled up her hands after being told that officers intended to collect fingernail clippings from her, apparently for DNA testing.

Surveillance video from outside Tsai's apartment showed her car leaving about 4:35 a.m. Saturday, with Lewis driving and a dog in the front passenger seat.

Court records for both cases have yet to list an attorney for Lewis. Her next court appearance is schedule to be in Olmsted County on July 5.