Hennepin County warrants reveal details of Tsai murder investigation; blood-stained shoes recovered from trash – ABC 6 News

(ABC 6 News) – New search warrants from Hennepin County describe the crime scene investigators found at the apartment of Minneapolis woman Liara Tsai on June 22.

Tsai, 35, was found dead in the back seat of her Chevrolet Sonic after suspect Margot Lewis allegedly drove the car into a barrier at the intersection of I-90 and Highway 42 in Olmsted County.

Lewis, 32, was charged with first-degree murder in Tsai’s death on Wednesday and remanded to Hennepin County Jail.

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Lewis also faces charges in Olmsted County for coroner’s arrest.

Trace to Tsai’s apartment

According to Lewis’s charging documents, investigators determined that Liara Tsai was the registered owner of the vehicle after the Chevrolet Sonic crashed into the guardrail on I-90 at about 100 mph.

Court documents also state that a small dog carrying a microchip registered to Tsai was found at the accident scene on Saturday morning.

According to Hennepin’s arrest warrants, Tsai’s dogs were last vaccinated in April 2024 at an Iowa clinic that provided authorities with Tsai’s forwarding address in Minneapolis.

Police went to the apartment on 16th Street, knocked on the door and confirmed that Tsai lived there alone. They also found security cameras facing the street.

Photos from Tsai’s Facebook page showed some of the bedding Tsai was found wrapped in in the apartment, as well as “a rope that was believed to have been used to bind her,” Hennepin’s arrest warrants said.

Lewis’ charging documents filed Wednesday did not specifically mention that Tsai was bound when she was found in the back seat of the crashed vehicle. The documents describe her as being “wrapped in bedding and a mattress and covered with a tarp with the subject’s head visible.”

Tsai’s last public Facebook post was made at 5:40 p.m. on June 21, about 13 hours before Olmsted County police responded to the crash on I-90.

Minneapolis police were unaware of the location of Tsai’s murder and requested permission to search her apartment for forensic evidence, weapons, electronic devices, any documents or papers dating to before Tsai’s death, and video surveillance footage of the premises.

List of evidence seized from the apartment

Investigators from Minneapolis and Olmsted County found a “bloody crime scene” in Tsai’s 16th Street apartment, according to Lewis’ murder indictment.

According to Hennepin County arrest warrants, investigators seized 36 items as evidence from the apartment – mostly bloodstained bedsheets and clothing found on the bed.

Minneapolis police also seized blood-stained indoor and outdoor shower curtains from Tsai’s bathroom, a pair of blood-stained sandals and blood swabs found in the toilet.

Further steps in the murder case

Margot Lewis is currently being held in the Hennepin County Jail on $1,500,000 bail.

An initial hearing on the two charges of first-degree murder had not been scheduled for Friday evening, June 28.

Lewis is scheduled to appear in Olmsted County District Court on July 5. He is charged with coroner’s arrest.