A 33-year-old man killed his girlfriend when he suspected she was pregnant, dumped her body in a trash bin in Anaheim, California, and then tried to flee the country, a prosecutor told jurors on Aug. 7 as the defendant’s attorney said his client should not be convicted of first-degree murder.
Amer Saleh Alhasan is charged with murder in the Oct. 30, 2018, killing of 38-year-old Tiyanie Sopheap Ly of Santa Ana.
Ms. Ly lived with her three children—a daughter and two sons—and worked a night shift, Senior Deputy District Attorney Janine Madera said. On Oct. 29, 2018, she was last seen in her work scrubs serving breakfast to her children before dropping them off at school, Ms. Madera said.
By the next day no one had heard from her and that “wasn’t like her,” Ms. Madera said. All calls went to her voicemail, she added.
The family called police to report her missing, Ms. Madera said.
“But earlier that morning they found her” body stuffed in a red duffel bag that was placed in a trash bin, Ms. Madera said.
A transient searching for recyclables found the body about 2 a.m. at 2156 S. Balboa Plaza, near Orangewood Avenue and Euclid Street, Ms. Madera said.
“Thinking the duffel bag might have something valuable in it he unzips it and he sees a body inside of that suitcase,” Ms. Madera said. “He does the right thing and calls police.”
The victim did not have identification on her so police did not immediately know who the victim was, Ms. Madera said. The cause of death was strangulation, Ms. Madera said.
Surveillance cameras picked up the image of a white SUV passing by the dumpster, Ms. Madera said.
Ms. Ly had never reported for work, Ms. Madera said. Police later found her Honda Odyssey left in a Walmart parking lot at 1340 S. Beach Blvd. in La Habra.
“The last person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Amer Alhasan,” Madera said.
Mr. Alhasan was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Halloween with a one-way ticket to Jordan, Ms. Madera said.
Ms. Ly’s DNA was found under his fingernails, on the luggage handle in the trash bin, and on the dumpster lid, Ms. Madera said. The rental car he was using matched the one on the surveillance video, Ms. Madera said.
When Mr. Alhasan was buying his one-way ticket “he sounded so odd they told him to come back with cash, which he did,” Ms. Madera said.
Mr. Alhasan had flooded the washing machine at his home trying to clean a blanket and some of the clothes in his luggage was still wet “and smelly,” Ms. Madera said.
He missed his first chance at a flight and had to return to the airport the next day, Ms. Madera said.
Some of the other evidence in the case will include online searches for abortions, how to dispose of a body, fleeing the country, when the trash would be picked up where the body was dumped, and for details on himself and police activity, Ms. Madera said. One of the searches was how long does it take before someone is reported missing, Ms. Madera said.
Jurors will also hear evidence about Mr. Alhasan’s movements from mobile phone records, Ms. Madera said.
The jury will also see text messages between the defendant and victim that included her complaints that he was only interested in her for her money, Ms. Madera said.
“Alhasan has a propensity toward domestic violence and you'll hear that in this trial,” Ms. Madera said.
The two broke up over text, but then got back together and “spent the weekend together,” Ms. Madera said.
Mr. Alhasan’s roommate, Steven Cho, is also expected to testify in the trial that on the Saturday night the two were together, she was throwing up and they thought she was pregnant, and Mr. Alhasan suspected she was cheating on him, Ms. Madera said.
Mr. Alhasan wanted her to terminate the pregnancy, Ms. Madera said.
Mr. Alhasan’s attorney, Michael Bruggeman, said his client is from Jordan and traveled back and forth from there.
“It wasn’t an easygoing relationship” with the victim, Mr. Bruggeman said.
“Ms. Ly did in fact die but it was not murder,” Mr. Bruggeman said. “It was something different. ... This was something that was provoked and done in the heat of passion. ... One thing it is not is first-degree murder.”
