Minnesota woman found guilty of murdering transgender ex-girlfriend, hiding body in car and crashing it

A Minnesota jury found Margot G. Lewis, 33, guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Liara Tsai, a 35-year-old transgender activist and DJ, in Minneapolis last year. The jury returned the verdict Monday in Hennepin County District Court, and Lewis remains jailed ahead of sentencing, which has been scheduled for November 18. The case drew attention for its brutality and the unusual manner in which investigators said Tsai’s body was disposed of after the killing.

The two women reportedly had a complicated and emotionally charged history. Tsai’s former spouse told police that Lewis flew in from Boston to stay with Tsai for eight days starting June 21, 2024, a stay described by The Minnesota Star Tribune as a “sordid and emotionally challenging” relationship. Prosecutors said the motive for the killing remains unclear. After Tsai was killed, authorities said Lewis wrapped the body in blankets, a sheet, a futon-style mattress, and a tarp, then placed Tsai’s lifeless body and Tsai’s dog inside the victim’s car and drove south along Interstate 90.

Surveillance video from Tsai’s apartment captured Lewis leaving around 4:35 a.m. on June 22, with the dog in the passenger seat. Investigators later recovered the car after it crashed along the route, and witnesses described seeing a woman in the vehicle at the time of the collision. When authorities arrived, Lewis was seated in a folding chair that a bystander had offered her, and she opened the rear passenger-side door to reveal Tsai’s body hidden under a folded-down seat. The dog was observed wandering near the scene. State Patrol investigators said Lewis had been driving in the median for an extended period, and they noted that the vehicle did not appear to take steps to avoid the crash.

In the hours surrounding the murder, police also examined Tsai’s apartment and found substantial evidence of violence linked to the crime. Investigators reported significant amounts of blood, along with a bloodied metal and plastic object left on the dead woman’s bed. A knife that had been on Tsai’s butcher block was missing, a detail that prosecutors argued helped establish premeditation and the extent of the violence used. The combination of forensic evidence and the timeline presented by prosecutors formed the basis for the second-degree murder charge, which carries substantial penalties under Minnesota law.

The verdict, which included findings of aggravating factors in the case, opened the possibility of a longer sentence beyond the standard term for second-degree murder. Lewis was also charged with concealing a dead body in Olmstead County, a separate count that remains pending at sentencing. Prosecutors emphasized the brutal nature of the crime and the use of Tsai’s own vehicle to move the body, arguing that the harm extended beyond Tsai herself to the deceased person’s dog and to the broader community that had looked up to Tsai as a nightlife and activist figure.

Tsai, described by friends and colleagues as an activist and DJ, had been remembered in several community gatherings after her death. Tributes highlighted her contributions to local arts, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and embassy-level cultural work that brought people together across diverse communities. Local organizations and fans expressed shock at the violence that ended Tsai’s life, and supporters called for accountability in the justice system as the case progressed toward sentencing.

Lewis’s sentencing is scheduled for November 18. In the interim, she remains in custody. The court proceedings and the detailed investigative findings have contributed to a broader conversation about violence in intimate relationships and the experiences of transgender individuals who are often targeted or harmed in ways that intersect with issues of identity and power. As the case moves toward sentencing, observers will be watching closely for how prosecutors argue aggravating factors and what weight the court assigns to the totality of evidence gathered in the months following Tsai’s death.