INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A 21-year-old U.S. soldier who police believe flew from Colorado to Indianapolis to kill his estranged wife is also wanted for military desertion and may be hiding out in Thailand.
Prosecutors in Indiana filed murder charges Wednesday against Peter Van Bawi Lian in the death of Khuang Par, whose body was found in an Indianapolis trash bin on Dec. 23. Lian was arrested in November on charges of assaulting her.
Police say Lian flew Dec. 22 from Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, to Indianapolis, where Par had moved to be with family.
Flight records show Lian flew to Bangkok, Thailand, on Dec. 24.
Indianapolis police say Lian is on U.S. Army active duty. The Indianapolis Star reports that he was due back at Fort Carson on Dec. 26 but didn't return.