The family of a woman shot dead by her husband in an apparent murder-suicide says there was no indication that she suffered from domestic abuse at the hands of her husband.
According to a press release, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office got a 911 call about two deceased people inside a home in Andover, Minnesota, on March 10.
Responding officers found the two victims dead with gunshot wounds. Authorities later identified them as Fue Her, 40, and his wife, Jennifer Yang, 36.
According to the press release, Her fatally shot his wife before authorities said he turned the gun on himself. Police pronounced the couple dead at the scene.
Yang’s brother David Yang spoke to a local news outlet about his sister and her husband’s relationship. According to Yang, he and his family did not see any signs suggesting domestic violence.
The brother told the outlets that the only thing his sister did was reach out to their parents about disagreements with her husband, but that was it. He said he still didn’t understand what happened but thought his sister was trying to protect them from the truth.
According to the outlet, David Yang puts the blame for his sister’s death squarely on the shoulders of his culture, which glorifies patriarchy. Both Yang and her husband were of Hmong descent.
Yang said that in Asian Hmong culture, men are the rule makers and decision makers, which leaves their female counterparts feeling like they have no power.
The brother referred to a saying in his culture, “Siab ntev netv,” which essentially means to have “a long heart.” It is mainly used as a phrase for perseverance when women are going through domestic violence.
Jennifer Yang is the third victim of a murder-suicide involving Hmong families in the Twin Cities after a man shot his wife, their three children, and himself in June last year.
In August last year, a 30-year-old man killed his wife at their home in St. Paul’s East Side and shot himself with their five children in the house.