A Minnesota woman will spend several decades in prison after murdering her ex-girlfriend and driving around with her corpse.
Margot Lewis, 33, was convicted in September of one count of second-degree murder with intent to kill and second-degree murder without intent while using a deadly weapon, according to Law&Crime.
This week, the defendant was sentenced to 40 years in jail for the savage stabbing death of Minneapolis DJ Liara Tsai, 35.
The underlying incident took place on June 22, 2024, when Lewis stabbed her former lover in the neck, murdered her, and then wrapped her body in linen, a futon-like mattress, and tarp.
Lewis had the body concealed in Tsai’s car and was driving it on Interstate 90 near Highway 42 in Eyota when she crashed. Two good Samaritans stopped to help and discovered the dead woman’s body.
Then, in ever more weird form, Lewis brought out a lawn chair and sat on the side of the highway to await the terrible discovery.
Authorities quickly arrived at the site.
“In checking to see if anyone else was in the vehicle, a deceased individual, a 35-year-old female, was located in the back seat,” the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “The condition of the deceased was suspicious, and it was immediately apparent that the death was not a result of the motor vehicle accident.”
Lewis was charged with murder few days later.
According to a charging document received by Law&Crime, Lewis was traveling at a fast pace before to the accident, as indicated by tire tracks. When officers examined the vehicle, they discovered dried blood on the blanket and mattress that the victim was wrapped in. The murdered woman was sitting in the rear seat, her head pointing toward the passenger seat and her feet facing the driver’s.
Later, the Minneapolis Police Department conducted a search warrant at Tsai’s home and discovered a bloody scene indicating “significant violence,” according to Rochester, Minnesota-based radio station KROC. Authorities discovered a plastic and metal object on a blood-stained bed, as well as antifreeze and a small shovel, and a knife was gone from a butcher’s block in the kitchen.
Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Erin Lutz described the murder in court as a profound “betrayal” of the heart, explaining that Tsai had been writing love poems to Lewis while Lewis was journaling her desire to kill Tsai, according to a courtroom report by Minneapolis-based NBC affiliate KARE.
“There is no doubt Ms. Tsai was a bright, vibrant, creative woman whose death has left a hole in the hearts of so many who knew and loved her,” the state’s attorney stated. “While the court sentence today can’t bring Ms. Tsai back, it can capture the gruesome and horrific nature of the actions of Margot Lewis, which resulted in her death and the pain that so many are experiencing today.”
Lewis, for her part, was unapologetic and belligerent.
“I loved her even when things got bad, and I would never have killed her,” the now-condemned lady stated during the abortive allocution.
Then, when 4th Judicial District Judge Paul Scoggin attempted to explain the reasoning behind the punishment, Lewis began to interject.
“Ma’am, this is not a discussion,” the judge said. “Do you understand me? “Nothing more!”
The murderess received an upward sentencing deviation requested by the state; however, she was granted 517 days of credit for pretrial confinement. Notably, Lewis is still facing charges for hiding Tsai’s body.
