Harrowing 911 call records woman's muffled screams for help before being buried alive

A terrifying 911 call recorded the muffled screams of a woman whose husband tried to kill her by burying her alive after kidnapping her on October 16 this year.

The woman, Young An, 42, contacted police by calling 911 through her Apple watch. The call was made while she was being bound and gagged by her estranged husband at her house in Washington State. The suspect, Chae An, 53, later buried her alive in a shallow grave.

However, the woman had managed to make the call before her husband could execute his sinister plan. In the seven-minute muffled call, the woman is heard making efforts to speak but is unable to say anything clearly.

"Can you hear me?" the dispatcher says. She appears to be trying to yell, "Yes! Yes!"

"What's going on there," the dispatcher asks. "I'm going to get help for you. I'm going to stay on the line with you."

The dispatcher then asks the victim if she is having a medical emergency, adding, "Are you hurt?" An could not give an answer. She then appears to mumble, "Help! Help!"

The police arrived at the crime scene, but only after the woman had been abducted. Chae An allegedly threw his wife into his minivan, drove the victim seven miles to the woods, and buried her in a shallow grave.

But his wife managed to climb out of the grave and run through the woods to get help. She managed to call 911 again with help from a stranger. She was then found hiding behind a shed by police officers.

"When Young realised the deputy was law enforcement, she sprinted at them, screaming and crying for help. She grabbed onto the deputy frantically and said, 'My husband is trying to kill me. Help me," The Mirror quoted a police officer as saying.

The husband and wife were involved in a dispute about their divorce and finances. The man has remained in jail since he was arrested near the site of the shallow grave on the day of the kidnapping.

He faces a number of charges including first-degree attempted murder, domestic violence, first-degree kidnapping, assault, and felony harassment. He has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.