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Man Charged In Tenafly Triple-Murder Case

Suspect Kang-Hyuk Choi Arrested In California

TENAFLY, N.J. (CBS) ― The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday that an arrest has been made in the killing of three people in Tenafly over the weekend.

Kang-Hyuk Choi was charged with the stabbing murders of three friends, 70-year-old Doo Soo Seo, 58-year-old Yoo Bok Kim, and her son, 28-year-old Han Il "Sean" Kim. The victims' decomposing bodies were found inside Yoo Kim's home at 169 Tenafly Road.

Authorities in Los Angeles said Choi, 32, waived his right to an extradition hearing and was expected to be on a plane back to New Jersey by Monday evening. It was unclear if Choi had an attorney on Monday.

Ed Hernandez, a deputy with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, said Choi, 32, was arrested early Sunday in Commerce, Calif. on a no-bail warrant for questioning.

This was just great police work," said Frank Puccio, the county's executive assistant prosecutor. "We didn't even have identities of these people and we solved it 36 hours later; it doesn't get better than this."

According to police, Choi became a subject of interest in the investigation when information obtained from a close friend of Sean Kim and a diary of his found at the scene indicated that Choi may have been the last person to have had contact with any of the victims on or about May 4.

Police said on that night, Choi and Sean Kim, who were friends, quarreled over money, leading Choi to grab a knife and stab Sean multiple times in his bedroom, killing him.

Both Yoo Kim and her brother-in-law, Seo, were asleep elsewhere in the house.

Choi then allegedly put Sean Kim's body in the closet and bunched sheets and blankets together on the bed as if someone was sleeping there.

The next morning, when Yoo Kim came to check on her son, Choi attacked her and stabbed her to death, before finding Seo and stabbing him to death as well.

Authorities said Choi drove away from the home in Han Il Kim's BMW with at least $30,000 in cash he found in the house.

He checked into a hotel in Flushing, N.Y., then called a relative to take him from there to a hospital to treat injuries he got as his victims tried to fight him off, Puccio said.

On May 6, they said, he left the BMW in long-term parking at Kennedy Airport -- and on May 13, he flew to Los Angeles.

Back in New Jersey, concern was mounting from people unable to reach the Kims and Seo. Finally, last Friday, a relative went to their home and saw one of the bodies.

Authorities found the other two.

They also found Han Il Kim's diary, written in Korean and detailing everything from when he got up to where he had lunch.

That, Puccio said, connected Choi to the others. They were able to trace him to California quickly.

Puccio said that when Choi was arrested, he had $88,000 in cash and credit cards in Han Il Kim's name. He had also made purchases, they said, with cards belonging to Han Il Kim and other people.

Puccio said that while questions remain in the whirlwind investigation, the main one is now answered.

"We're convinced that Mr. Choi is the sole actor. In terms of looking for other suspects, the case is closed."

Stunned friends, neighbors and business associates of the victims were providing further details about their lives.

Connie Choi of Classic Realty in Tenafly confirmed that her agency sold the property at 169 Tenafly Road to Yoo Kim and her son. Choi -- who is not related to the man arrested in California -- said Kim's son was a successful cell phone dealer who had put up the money for the property.

David Sung, owner of City Wireless in Fort Lee, said Sean Kim was a well-known cell phone entrepreneur who people in the business had been trying to contact for weeks.

Sung characterized Kim as an ambitious businessman who had spoken recently about getting out of the cell phone business to concentrate on real estate and mortgage brokerage.

"He always had bigger goals, he always had so many ideas," Sung said.

Sung, 27, said Kim had emigrated from Korea with his mother as a teenager and attended Tenafly High School.

"I think his life was really complicated," Sung said.

He said Kim started out in the cell phone business about six years ago, parlaying two New Jersey stores into an operation that stretched from Philadelphia to Maryland. He said Kim would scout locations, set up stores and then sell the complete business.

Sung said he last spoke to Kim a few weeks ago when he called to inquire about distributors.

"I was talking to my friend about him the other day," Sung said. "We both thought he was obviously making good money because he was buying all these properties."

Meanwhile, Tenafly residents were still coming to grips with the violence.

Choi, a 30-year resident of the northern New Jersey borough, said she was shocked by the slayings.

"Most people who move to this town are coming here for their children's education and they expect a good, safe area," Choi said. "This is just indescribable."

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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