'Homicide' If I'm Found Dead, Lexington Woman Told Friend

LEXINGTON, MA — A Lexington man accused of murdering his wife was ordered held without bail Thursday. Hongyan Sun, 50, was charged with killing his wife, 49-year-old Shen Cai, and moving her body to her Honda CRV on Worthen Road to mislead investigators.

Cai's body was found May 30. Police learned of a May 28 altercation between Sun and Cai that left injuries on both "consistent with a violent struggle," the Middlesex District Attorney's office said.

An autopsy revealed Cai died of mechanical asphyxiation. She had "significant trauma" to her neck and body, according to the DA.

Authorities said Cai and Sun were going through a divorce, and she had become "increasingly fearful" of her husband in the days leading up to her death, according to a police report cited by NBC Boston. Cai told her friend if she were to turn up dead, it would be a "homicide not a suicide," the report stated.

Sun had a history of verbal abuse and controlling behavior, including threatening to not renew her green card if she left him or told anyone what he was doing to her, as well as a prior instance of violence, according to the DA. She said Sun had threatened to kill her and her daughter from a previous marriage, the police report stated.

Sun will next appear in court July 30.