A man in southeastern Minnesota was charged with inflicting blows to the head of his longtime girlfriend and strangling her before leaving her body in the woods.
Kyle B. Allers, 23, of Lewiston, was charged Monday in Winona County District Court with second-degree murder and remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. Law enforcement searched for more than four hours before finding the body of Tasha L. Hanson, 24, early Saturday east of Lewiston.
The two, who lived together, had a relationship that was known to be stormy. In 2012, both were convicted of domestic assault and sentenced to a year's probation for a violent incident.
Also, the two were in involved in a child support dispute in 2013, according to court records. Birth records show the couple had two children together.
The day before Hanson's body was found, according to the murder charge, a family member of Allers' contacted authorities and reported that the defendant said he had fought with Hanson. The relative said he believed Hanson was dead.
According to the complaint filed Monday:
A deputy spotted Allers about 1:20 a.m. Friday driving slowly away from what turned out to be Hanson's parked vehicle on a highway near Lewiston. After a couple of turns, Allers parked in a driveway.
The deputy scrutinized Hanson's parked vehicle and saw nothing suspicious other than a small spot of blood under the trunk lid. The deputy returned to where Allers parked. He told the deputy he was looking for his fiancée, explaining they had argued. The deputy saw a small spot of blood on Allers' hand, which he said was from a blister.
