A 65-year-old California woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly fatally wounding her husband with a flagpole, according to SF Gate.
On 4 September, Palm Desert sheriff’s deputies responded to an “unknown trouble call” in The Enclave, a luxury condominium community. Upon arrival, officers located an individual with “traumatic injuries” that appeared to be from a physical assault and pronounced them dead.
Vicky Kyung Mi Kim was taken into custody on suspicion of murder. The victim was her spouse, SF Gate reported.
Her bail has been set at $10m, according to court documents.
The events leading up to the deadly incident remain unknown, but court documents show Kim had a history of recent domestic violence.
In January, she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of battery of a spouse or cohabitant and a misdemeanor charge of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse related to a separate violation. Kim entered a guilty plea for violating a protective order.
The couple had previous arguments over finances and infidelity allegations, KESQ News Channel 3 reported.
Molly Smith, a spokesperson for the Riverside county district attorney’s office, referenced Kim’s legal troubles to SF Gate: “In January of this year, our office charged Ms Kim with a felony, obtained criminal protective orders, and intended to aggressively prosecute her for her crimes against her husband.”
In a statement, obtained by KESQ, Smith elaborated on Kim’s record. “Despite our office’s clear objections, a judge resolved all of the defendant’s cases as misdemeanors, released her from custody, and terminated all protective orders that prosecutors worked hard to obtain,” Smith said.
The judge could not be immediately identified for comment.