Dark Obsession-Ming Sen Shiue

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

Ming-Shen Shiyu was born in Taiwan , but his family immigrated to Minnesota when he was a young boy . He attended Alexander Ramsey High School

Ming's Obsession Begins

Speaker 1 0:08

in Roseville , minnesota , and while attending this school he developed a crush on his algebra teacher , mary Stauffer . This crush developed into an obsession , and this obsession followed him through to adulthood . Welcome to this episode of Human Wreckage . In this episode , we talk about the case of Ming-Shen Shiyu and how an obsession led him down a dark path . Brace yourselves , this is messed up . Let's get into

The 1980 Abduction

Speaker 1 0:32

it . So On the 16th of May 1980 , shiu managed to track Mary down . She had been in a beauty salon in St Paul with her 8-year-old daughter , elizabeth . Mary's family had been scheduled to leave for the Philippines on a 4-year Baptist missionary trip , and she and her daughter were treating themselves to a haircut before the big trip . Upon leaving the beauty salon , ming approached Mary and Elizabeth armed with a gun . Fifteen years had passed and at first Mary didn't recognize Ming . Initially she thought that he possibly wanted to steal her car , so she handed over her keys . Ming , however , had other plans . He forced Mary and Elizabeth into the car and ordered Mary to drive north . Mary drove to a remote wooded area in Anoka County where Ming tied her up alongside Elizabeth and stuffed them into the trunk of the car . Ming drove a short distance to an undeveloped area near Roseville to check on Mary and Elizabeth . As he was doing this , two little boys approached the car . One of the boys stayed at the front of the car while the second boy , 6-year-old Jason Wilkman , came to the trunk to see what was going on . Tragically , ming grabbed Jason and shoved him in the trunk alongside

Two Months in Captivity

Speaker 1 2:15

Mary and Elizabeth . Ming then drove to the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area . He grabbed Jason out of the trunk and beat him to death with a metal rod in the wooded area nearby . From here , ming drove Mary and Elizabeth to his apartment in Roseville . They were shackled and chained together in a back bedroom closet which measured only 4 feet by 21 inches . By this point , mary and Elizabeth's family were frantic . Mary's husband , irv , had called the beauty salon and discovered that they had left their safe and well . However , they had never returned home . Irv called around local hospitals , working on the assumption they had potentially had an accident , before calling police to report them missing . By the following day , police had linked the disappearance of Jason with the disappearance of Mary and Elizabeth . By this point , his body had not yet been discovered . At the scene where Jason was abducted , mary's license plate was discovered . It had been torn off by heavy brush during the quick getaway . While police were attempting to find Jason , mary and Elizabeth , ming had revealed his identity to Mary .

Speaker 1 3:20

Over the course of the next two months , ming repeatedly raped Mary , telling her that he wanted her to feel dirty , debased and degraded . As time progressed , ming relaxed the strict rules within the apartment , while Mary and Elizabeth were ordered to remain bound together . They were allowed to eat upstairs in the kitchen and were allowed to shower . He was weirdly affectionate in a sick parental way , elizabeth later said . At the time Ming ran an electronics store and he eventually had to go back to work . He was weirdly affectionate in a sick parental way , elizabeth later said . At the time Ming ran an electronics store and he eventually had to go back to work .

Speaker 1 3:50

On the 7th of July , after Ming left for work , mary and Elizabeth managed to free themselves from their binds and call the police

Escape and Arrest

Speaker 1 3:57

. When the officer arrived , mary was asked if Jason was with them . While Mary had known that Jason had been removed from the trunk , she hadn't realized that he had been murdered . That's when I knew that Jason never made it home and was most likely dead , she said . Ming was swiftly apprehended and ordered to stand trial . While awaiting trial , he tried several times to have Mary and Elizabeth killed so that they could not testify against him during trial . During the ensuing trial , ming had somehow been able to smuggle a pocket knife into the courtroom and , as Mary was on the witness stand testifying against him , he slashed her face . He inflicted a wound that would need 62 stitches . Following the outburst , ming was bound to his chair . During court proceedings , ming was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years for the murder and another 30 years for the kidnapping . He had reached a plea agreement wherein he directed investigators to Jason's body in return for first-degree murder being taken off the table .

Trial and Sentencing

Speaker 1 4:56

This meant that Ming could be up for parole in as little as 30 years

Parole Hearing Decades Later

Speaker 1 5:00

.

Speaker 1 5:00

In 2010 , ming was back in court for a commitment hearing . As he was up for a parole consideration in the summer , prosecutors were seeking to keep Ming locked up . Under the state's civil commitment law meant for dangerous sex offenders . This would mean that if Ming were ever released , he would be committed to the state's sex offender program . When he entered court , he was using a walker and had shackles attached to his feet .

Speaker 1 5:24

Elizabeth publicly spoke during the hearing about how the incident still haunts her . She was now a married mother and said that Ming had threatened to hunt her and her own children down if he was ever caught , imprisoned and then released . She said I'm a mother today . Everything he ever told us during the kidnapping he did I don't know that I'd let my children go out to a park , to a mall , if he were released .

Speaker 1 5:47

Ming testified that he had been rehabilitated after serving decades in a high-security prison . He apologized for his crimes and recounted them in detail . The remorse and sorrow remains heavy on me . I regret acting in that matter . I chose to do wrong . I had no concern for anybody . He also said that he would be willing to undergo sexual offender treatment and would have done so before , but it wasn't available in the prison he was being held in .

Speaker 1 6:14

Ming's lawyer , rick Maddox , said that Ming was now old and infirm and suffered from arthritis and kidney failure and was unlikely to re-offend . He announced that he believed that Ming was rehabilitated and could acclimatize to the outside world . Two psychological experts , however , said that he should be sent to Minnesota's sex offender treatment program in Moose Lake . Ultimately , the judge ruled that Ming was a sexually dangerous person with a sexual psychopathic personality . She decided that if Ming were ever paroled he would be committed to the state's sex offender program . The decision was a welcome relief to Mary and Elizabeth . I don't want to say we're afraid . We don't know what could have happened in 30 years , but by the same token , my family knows the threat is real , said Mary , thanks for listening . I told you it was a messed up case . If you like what I do , please like and subscribe . Till next time , take care of yourselves . Outro Music .