Kevin Hyun Ahn, a 31-year-old Korean American, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. These charges were added to the existing charges against him for abusing and leaving his mother’s body in a car in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
According to the Baltimore County Prosecutor’s Office in Maryland, Ahn is accused of killing a couple who were roommates with his mother, Hyun Ahn (61). Prosecutors said evidence of homicide was found on the bodies of Yong Kim (69) and Soondok Im (83). Their bodies were found at the Owings Mills home where Ahn’s mother lived. Ahn has been identified as the prime suspect.
Initially, investigators thought the couple might have died by suicide. However, autopsies later revealed they died from asphyxiation. Prosecutors said signs of struggle were found on their bodies and inside the home. Ahn was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault.
The local newspaper Republican Herald reported on July 9 that Lancaster County prosecutors, who first charged Ahn with abuse and abandonment of a corpse, dropped those charges and transferred the case to Baltimore County, Maryland due to jurisdiction. Hyun Ahn’s residence was registered in Maryland, which influenced the transfer.
The case was uncovered on March 24 when an officer from the Lancaster County Regional Police Department found the body of Ahn’s mother covered with a trash bag in the back seat of his car. At the time, Ahn was driving to his sister’s house with the body when he was arrested.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
