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Albuquerque police investigate rape accusations in deaths of couple

By Maggie Shepard
Friday, December 21, 2007

Albuquerque police are trying to find out if one of the men accused of killing a couple in their home is telling the truth when he says his alleged accomplice sexually assaulted the female victim.

Police say Travis Rowley, 23, is accusing fellow traveling magazine salesman Mike Lee, 21, of raping 69-year-old Pung Yi and strangling her, then killing her husband Tak Yi, 79, in their Northeast Heights home Dec. 4.

Both Rowley and Lee were indicted Wednesday in state District Court on charges of rape in a case previously described by police as a robbery gone bad. The two will also face trial on charges of murder, robbery, burglary, larceny, kidnapping and several other charges.

But police said Thursday that they are still looking for evidence to substantiate Rowley's accusation. They said evidence has corroborated many other details in Rowley's statement to detectives following his Dec. 7 arrest.

With rape included in their charges, the two are eligible for the death penalty. District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said her office has 90 days to decide whether to pursue it.

The Yis were found Dec. 4 in their home in the 6900 block of Avenida la Costa Northeast by their son, who was checking in on them after they failed to call him.

Family members told investigators that jewelry, several cameras and credit cards were missing from the home, according to Metro Court criminal complaints.

According to the criminal complaints, Rowley and Lee had been dropped off in the Yis' neighborhood to sell magazine subscriptions when they saw Tak Yi working in his backyard.

Rowley told police that Lee said he was going to "steal an item from the home."

Lee allegedly punched Pung Yi, who fell to the floor, and Rowley reportedly dragged her into the home. Then Tak Yi entered the home and tried to call police, Rowley told police.

After punching Tak Yi twice, Rowley said, Lee suffocated Pung Yi and then walked over to Tak Yi and stomped his foot on his head, the complaint said. Rowley said he believed the "blow was fatal."

Lee and Rowley were picked up Dec. 7 after the public called in tips. The two were selling their magazines door-to-door when officers arrested Rowley in Rio Rancho and Lee on the city's West Side.

Lee, from the Boston area, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in lieu of $2 million cash-only bond; Rowley, from outside of Los Angeles, is being held in lieu of $2 million cash or surety bond.