2011 Year in Review
Published 12:59 pm Wednesday, January 4, 2012
6. Albert Lea man allegedly murdered in St. Paul
If Albert Leans didn’t know about the local immigrant Karen population, they knew about it after the murder of Albert Lea resident Po Lye, who was killed in St Paul on Nov. 19.
Charges filed by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office allege Pah Ber, 48, stabbed Lye, 40, after accusing him of cheating with his wife. After stabbing Lye, Ber allegedly turned on his wife, Paw Pree, also 40.
The incident happened sometime after 6 a.m. at an apartment building near the intersection of Farrington Street and West Arlington Avenue. Ber reportedly came home from drinking and playing cards and then saw Lye sleeping on the living room couch, court documents state.
Ber’s 21-year-old son told police Lye was his friend and he had asked to stay overnight.
However, Ber, who had been teased by Burmese refugees that his wife was cheating on him with other men, told police he believed Lye was the man who had been sleeping with his wife. He reportedly asked Lye if he was going to take his wife, but Lye denied wanting to do so, stating he just wanted to get some rest and would then leave.
Ber became mad and began stabbing him with an 8-inch knife, according to court documents.
The son reportedly tried to stop Ber from stabbing Lye, but Ber threatened to kill the son. The son ran to his sister’s bedroom and told her to call 911. They later fled to a neighbor’s apartment.
Lye suffered “a very deep and wide laceration” to his neck, along with stab wounds to his stomach and chest, according to court documents, and died at the scene.
Ber reportedly broke down a bedroom door and started stabbing Pree, including several times in the eyes, blinding her. One of her young sons grabbed her hand and led her out of the apartment. Police arrived near 7 a.m.
The grisly incident cast a somber mood over the Karen population in Minnesota, with one of leaders of the Karen Organization of Minnesota calling it the first major Karen crime in the state.
Lye worked for Albert Lea Select Foods, like many Karen immigrants do. He didn’t have any local family or family in Minnesota. St. Paul police were left asking the public if anyone knew his kin.
On Dec. 16, Ber pleaded not guilty to the charges second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder. Ber is being held in Ramsey County jail in lieu of $1 million bail.