Si Choy Saeturn

Boy, 14, held in murder

5, including husband, arrested in pregnant woman's death

By M.S. Enkoji -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, February 10, 2006

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A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of participating in a contract murder of a pregnant 28-year-old Sacramento woman who was gunned down in the parking lot of her workplace.

Four other suspects - including the woman's husband - have been arrested on suspicion of murdering Si Choy Saeturn on Dec. 29. Saeturn, a dispatcher at Astro Security Co., was four months pregnant. The mother of a 10-year-old girl, she had been shot in the head and abdomen.

Her husband, Nai Saechao, 25, is suspected of plotting a calculated murder-for-hire scheme to get rid of the woman he no longer wanted to be married to, according to investigators.

"He facilitated getting the group together," said Sacramento Police Sgt. Fernando Enriquez.

The other suspects are 23-year-old Lo Saephanh; 24-year-old Chang Saephan and his brother, 19-year-old Kahe Saephan.

Under California law, the 14-year-old juvenile could be tried as an adult. Until then, The Bee is withholding his name. He had to be taken from school to be arrested.

The killing could eventually become two homicide cases.

The state Supreme Court ruled in 1994 that murder charges could be filed if a fetus is proven to be at least 8 weeks old.

None of the suspects - acquaintances of the husband - have significant criminal records.

Saechao is not the suspected shooter and was probably not in the vicinity of the 24th Street business at the time, Enriquez said.

From the beginning, police suspected Saeturn's death was not a random crime and immediately questioned Saechao, her husband of 11 years.

But in a Bee interview after his wife's body was found, Saechao expressed profound grief over her death.

"She was like a star you come out and look at in the sky at night," he had said. "She was the sweetest thing."

He denied any connection to the shooting.

"What do you get from taking a mom away from a 10-year-old girl?" he had said then.

The alarm company where Saeturn worked for four years declined to talk about her killing.

Saechao gave his account of what happened that night.

He said he was worried when his wife didn't get home that night after her shift ended at 10 p.m.

He called her work, then police.

Police found her body near her parked car. Saechao, with the couple's daughter in tow, arrived shortly after.

Officers attempted to hold Saechao back as he struggled to see the body.

Friends, relatives and co-workers helped investigators cast a different light on the relationship, which led to further questioning, Enriquez said.

Eventually, investigators unraveled what they believe was a carefully crafted plan, though investigators have not determined whether the payoff was cash or goods, Enriquez said.

Police do not expect to make any more arrests, but they are still looking for witnesses.

The couple, who met as teenagers, both immigrated to the United States in 1980, Saechao has said. They are both Mien, from the hill tribes in Laos.

A prominent Sacramento Mien community activist said the violent death of the pregnant Saeturn resonates among the estimated 12,000 in the Sacramento region, whether they knew the couple or not.

"This is just unthinkable," said Chem Seng Yaang, who is a board member of the United Iu Mien Community.

He does not know the couple, but said that as young immigrants, they were still straddling two worlds: one of tribal villages led and ruled by elders and a new one of options and personal freedom.

"The role of the leader is a mediator and often a judge and at times the police," Yaang said.

Where older Mien had all their conflicts with other villages, neighbors and spouses resolved by elders, a younger generation is more likely to reject ancient customs and opt for the court system, Yaang said.

"In this generation, you just haven't heard of this," he said.

"It's shocking. You wonder: Why did this occur?"

POLICE SEEK HELP

Anyone with information about the case should contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or (800) AA-CRIME. Callers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a $1,000 reward.

About the writer:

• The Bee's M.S. Enkoji can be reached at (916) 321-1106 or menkoji@sacbee.com.