A U.S. Army soldier who was charged earlier this week with murder allegedly headed to Thailand after he killed his estranged wife in Indianapolis.
Before Khuang Par’s body was discovered in a dumpster, she lived with her husband Peter Lian, 21, near Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. According to Indianapolis police detective Christopher Craighill, she traveled to Indianapolis where her family is located after Lian allegedly assaulted her in Colorado in November.
“Ms. Par told the Colorado police officers investigating this incident that she and [Lian] were arguing about her going back to Indiana. A physical altercation ensued and Peter began to choke her with one hand around the neck, then both hands around her neck,” Craighill said in a court filing related to the November incident, according to the Associated Press.
“Lian told officers he released pressure from around Par’s neck and before she could walk out of the door, he yelled, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ in her native language Burmese,” Craighill said.
Lian was arrested and charged with assault in Colorado but then flew to Indianapolis on Dec. 22, where he allegedly followed through on his earlier threat and killed her. Days later, he headed to Bangkok, according to flight records, but his current location is unknown.
The U.S. Army has labeled Lian a deserter after he failed to return to Fort Carson on Dec. 26 as scheduled.
Par’s body was found in a suitcase in a dumpster on Dec. 23 by a homeless woman, arrest documents show. After sticking her hand into the suitcase, she notified a local man who lived nearby, who then called 911 after he saw what appeared to be human remains in the suitcase. Par’s death was determined a homicide, per an autopsy.
