2 charged say Inver Grove Heights killing followed assault during "erotic massage"
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. -- Two people charged in connection with a weekend shooting death in Inver Grove Heights told investigators the shooting occurred because the deceased assaulted one of them during an "erotic massage," charging documents say.
Logan Slack and Fotini West, both 25, are each charged with two counts of second-degree murder, Dakota County court documents show. Slack is the alleged shooter, while West alleges she was the assault victim.
Officers responded to an Inver Grove Heights home just after 2 a.m. Saturday after an "open line" 911 call.
"Help me," a man on the call said, according to a criminal complaint. "They are trying to get into my house."
The dispatcher said the man then went silent, and they believed the phone was outside.
Responding officers found a shattered glass door at the back of the home and went inside. Bloody footprints led them to a dead man, identified as 43-year-old Michael Chang-Beom Lee, the complaint states. An autopsy showed he was shot to death.
Two witnesses told police they saw an SUV leave the scene. Another officer spotted an SUV matching the witnesses' description nearby and stopped he driver, identified as Slack.
A woman -- identified as West -- was also in the SUV, covered in blood, the complaint states. Wes told police she went to Lee's house and he assaulted her, then she called Slack and remembered him carrying her out of the house.
According to the complaint, Slack told investigators he took West to Lee's house so she could give him an "erotic massage" for money. Slack said after some time West left the house and said Lee assaulted her and refused to pay.
The complaint states Slack entered the home with a revolver, at which point Lee locked himself in a bathroom and called 911. Slack broke a hole in the bathroom door, through which Lee tried to grab West. At that point, Slack shot Lee. He pulled the trigger twice, but fired only one bullet due to an empty chamber.
Slack and Wes then allegedly took Lee's phone and left. Investigators said a revolver and a bloody cellphone were found in Slack's car.
Slack and West are both in custody. A third person was arrested Saturday but has not been identified or charged.