HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 07-27 Deaths at Northernaire Motel determined to be joint suicide MAPLEWOOD REVIEW Review
tildi 1 ?at 27,2016
Police
Deaths at Northernaire Motel determined to be joint suicide
The Ramsey County Medical found when staff were looking for said police do not know where the
Examiner's office determined that the owners of a vehicle left in a couple acquired the cyanide.
the man and a woman who were parking lot that was set to be resur- "It is a substance that is out
found,dead June 1 in a Maplewood faced that day. there.There are legitimate uses for
motel room both died from ingest- Maplewood police and paramed- it,"he added.
ing cyanide,according to a Maple- ics arrived on the scene shortly Maplewood investigators and
wood police press release. after the two were found at around special agents from the Bureau of
The July 20 release also says 2 p.m.,and both yang and Xiong Criminal Apprehension carried out
Maplewood Police investigators were quickly pronounced dead. the investigation into the deaths,
found evidence indicating the cou- "There were no obvious signs for which involved developing Vang's
ple planned the mutual suicide. major trauma,"Schnell said at that and Xiong's background profiles
On June 1,staff at the Norther- time. and a timeline leading up to the
naire Motel located near the junc- The Ramsey County Medi- discovery of their bodies.
tion of Highway 61 and Highway cal Examiner's Office preformed So far investigators have uncov-
36 discovered the bodies of Zoua autopsies on June 2,but the cause ered digital forensic evidence that
yang,27,of Osseo,Wisconsin and of death was reliant on toxicology the couple planned the mutual sui-
Tou Chang Xiong,24,of LaCrosse, tests, which require more time. cide,but the investigation remains
Wisconsin. Ultimately,the tests revealed cya- open.
According to Maplewood police nide poisoning.
chief Paul Schnell,the bodies were In a July 20 interview,Schnell —Aundrea Kinney