Charges: St. Paul Man Kills 1, Blinds Wife In Stabbing
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A St. Paul man faces charges of murder and attempted murder after allegedly slitting a man's throat and stabbing his wife in the eyes, leaving her blind and seriously wounded.
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged 48-year-old Pah Ber Monday with one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree attempted murder for acts he allegedly committed Saturday morning. If convicted, Ber faces up to 60 years in prison.
A criminal complaint paints this picture of jealousy and violence: At 7 a.m. police responded to a stabbing at the 1400 block of Farrington Street, where Ber told police he lived with his wife and five children. Upon arrival police almost immediately arrested Ber after seeing him walk down from the complex with his hands covered in blood.
Inside the complex, police found 40-year-old Po Lye of Albert Lea with a deep gash in his neck. Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene. In another room, police found Ber's wife, 40-year-old Paw Pree, suffering from stab wounds all over her body. She was covered in blood, and authorities took her to Regions Hospital for treatment.
Police spoke with Pree at the hospital, and she said that the stabbing occurred after Ber accused her of being unfaithful. Pree said Ber asked her if she was going to sleep with Lye before pulling out a knife and stabbing Lye in the stomach. Pree said she then ran into the bedroom and locked herself in. But moments later Ber broke down the door, stabbed her many times and blinded her with cuts on her eyes.
The couple's young daughter was in the bed at the time of the stabbing. Bur then left the bedroom to sharpen his knife in the kitchen, at which moment the couple's young son took Pree by the hand and led her into another apartment.
Doctors at Regions Hospital said Pree is now blind in both eyes.
Before stabbing his wife, Ber chased Lye around the apartment and cut his throat, Ber's 21-year-old son said. Ber's son told police that his father threatened to kill him for trying to save Lye's life. Ber's son said he escaped to one of his sister's rooms and told her to call 911.
After his arrest, Ber told police he went home drunk Saturday morning after playing cards. He said men were teasing him about his wife cheating on him and that the sight of Lye on his couch made him angry.
Ber told police he wanted to kill Lye and hurt his wife, but not kill her. Ber told police he is glad Lye is dead, because he won't have to endure teasing anymore. He said the knife he used in the stabbing was 8-inches long.
When police asked Ber what should happen to him for killing Lye, he responded: "If you kill somebody, you should be dead."
