Closed — final outcome reached

St. Paul Case That Changed Hmong Community Mental Health Outreach

👤 Khoua Her 📍 St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 🗓 1998 ⚖️ Six counts of second-degree intentional murder

Case summary

On September 3, 1998, Her strangled her six children at their St. Paul home, attempted suicide, and then called 911 to report what she had done. She pleaded guilty to six counts of intentional second-degree murder under a plea agreement and on November 30, 1998, was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with parole possible after 33. The killings prompted a substantial expansion of mental health outreach and crisis services for Hmong families in Minnesota, and the case is still cited in that state as the turning point in how immigrant maternal mental health is addressed.

Mental-health context

Her, a 24-year-old Hmong immigrant estranged from her husband, was described as severely depressed and overwhelmed by the responsibility of raising six children alone. At her sentencing hearing she told the court she had been suicidal at the time and was frightened about who would care for the children if she died. Her isolation and lack of access to culturally appropriate mental health care were central to the case's aftermath.

Status / outcome

Guilty plea; sentenced November 1998 to 50 years, parole possible after 33 years

Sources

This summary is compiled from public reporting. Allegations are not findings of fact, and every accused person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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