Olmsted County Sheriff confirms ‘suspicious death’ is a murder investigation after Minneapolis Police found “scene indicating violence”

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – While the investigation into Liara Tsai’s death is officially being conducted by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) provided some new details into the investigation launched after Tsai’s body was discovered in the back seat of the vehicle that Margot Lewis was driving.

According to Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson, when investigating the vehicle at the scene of the crash, an initial search into the registration of the vehicle linked it to a residence in Minneapolis. OCSO then requested a welfare check of the address through MPD.

When MPD and BCA officers executed a search warrant on the residence in Minneapolis, a “scene indicating violence” was found.

Sheriff Torgerson stated that Tsai’s cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries.”

The sheriff confirmed that Tsai and Lewis knew each other.

When asked if anyone else could have been involved in the killing of Tsai, Sheriff Torgerson said, “We don’t believe there is, but it’s entirely possible.”

The sheriff also stated that “the suspect has not been cooperative from the very beginning.”

Margot Lewis is currently being charged in Olmsted County with interference with a dead body or scene of crime and was given a $1 million unconditional bond. Lewis is currently being held in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.

The investigation is ongoing in both Olmsted and Hennepin Counties as a murder investigation.

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