‘Something out of a horror movie’: Michigan man convicted of beating girlfriend to death
06/17/2026 5:30 pm PDT
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (TCN) -- A 45-year-old man has been convicted of first-degree murder in the beating death of his girlfriend in 2023.
Martin Yost beat his girlfriend, 45-year-old Dhoua Lao, to death on November 13, 2023, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office. Police found him passed out in the driver’s seat of his car with Lao’s body next to him.
ClickOnDetroit reports Lao had significant trauma to her head and face. Authorities believe she was assaulted before being put into the vehicle. She was dead by the time officers found the car, according to the outlet. Yost was covered in blood and holding a fistful of hair; authorities at the time described him as incapacitated.
Following a two-week trial, Yost was found guilty of first-degree murder on June 12, according to the prosecutor’s office. At trial, prosecutors said Lao’s face was so badly beaten it was impossible to determine her race or gender at first, Law & Crime reports. Prosecutors said the scene in the car was “something out of a horror movie.”
Jurors saw text messages from Lao to Yost in which she offered him money not to hurt her and begged him not to kill her, according to Law & Crime.
Lao was a mother of two children unrelated to Yost, per the prosecutor’s office.
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said, “This is a stark and tragic illustration of the ultimate and worst consequence of domestic violence.”
Yost had been convicted of domestic violence in the past, Law & Crime reports.
Per the prosecutor’s office, Yost is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28; he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. According to The Detroit News, Yost’s attorneys, Jordan Zuppke and Carly Babi, said Yost will seek an appellate review of his conviction.
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