Trial: Accused Murderer Fled to Minnesota

Isaac Campbell fled to Minnesota following the death of his ex-girlfriend because things got too "stressful" in California,

Campbell, who is charged with murder in the 2007 death of Liya "Jessie" Lu and dumping her body in an Arcadia trash container, was arrested near the Minnesota home of his childhood friend and high school classmate, Brian Blatzheim, shortly after the discovery of Lu's body.

Blatzheim, 37, lived on the same street as Campbell for five years until Campbell’s family moved to El Monte. The pair remained friends despite the move.

Blatzheim attended Temple City High School with Campbell, but the friendship eventually “kind of fell off the map,” Blatzheim said. When he was in his early 20s, Blatzheim moved to Minnesota with his family.

When Blatzheim temporarily moved back to California to help his sister with her newborn baby, he only contacted Campbell to buy marijuana from him, he testified.

According to Blatzheim's testimony:

In 2005, Blatzheim returned to Minnesota with his girlfriend, and the couple married. In September of 2007, Campbell called Blatzheim from the Mall of America to tell him he was in town. Blatzheim and his wife went to see Campbell, and invited him to stay at their apartment.

Blaztheim testified that when he asked his friend what he was doing in Minnesota, Campbell said California was “stressful.” Campbell said that he wanted to do some travelling, go to Alaska and write.

Campbell stayed with Blatzheim for about three days. When Blatzheim asked his friend to leave, Campbell promised to do so, Blatzheim testified. Campbell said he planned to leave as soon as he heard from his friend from Alaska.

Then Blatzheim heard from another friend that Campbell was in “big trouble." Blatzheim said he talked to his wife about the situation and they “decided to do the right thing.” 

Blatzheim made some calls to people in California, and he came home from work one day in late September to find a half-cooked meal and Campbell’s property still at the apartment.

But Campbell was gone.

Blatzheim testified that he searched Campbell’s belongings and found Chinese movies, two or three cell phones with their batteries removed, and liquid and pill supplements, along with a bus ticket into Minnesota from Colorado under the name of John Connor.

Defense lawyer Jim Duffy asked Blatzheim if he had ever seen Campbell strike anyone—man or woman.  Blatzheim said that he hadn’t. Prosecutor Steve Ipsen then asked whether Campbell had martial arts training. Blatzheim said he had seen a video of Campbell sparring three weeks before the defendant's arrival in Minnesota.

The second witness called to the stand was Lee Liang, a classmate of Campbell’s in the nursing program at Pasadena City College. Campbell and Lu met as nursing students at PCC. Liang testified that she and Campbell were study and lab partners. 

On Aug. 11, 2007—the day before Lu's death—Campbell stopped by Liang's apartment. 

“We talked about studying, what we should do about our homework because after every rotation, we have to write a project paper,” Liang said.

She saw Campbell again the next morning when he stopped by her apartment before lunch. She testified that there was an exam coming up, so he came to her apartment to study. He was acting his usual self.