Current:Home > reviews6 people accused of torturing, killing woman lured into religious group -EliteFunds
6 people accused of torturing, killing woman lured into religious group
View
Date:2025-04-15 00:17:34
A woman found dead in the trunk of a car earlier this week was allegedly lured to the U.S. from South Korea to join a religious organization, then tortured in the basement of a Georgia home, police said.
Six people, including a 15-year-old boy, have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the woman's death, Gwinnett County police announced on Thursday.
The victim -- who is believed to be in her 20s to mid-30s -- is believed to have moved to the U.S. sometime over the summer to join what the suspects referred to as "Soldiers of Christ," police said.
"Apparently the victim was subjected to beatings, malnourishment -- which subsequently resulted in what the medical examiner's office believes was the cause of her death," Cpl. Juan Madiedo, a spokesperson with the Gwinnett County Police Department, said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Police believe the victim starved for several weeks and died sometime in late August. She weighed approximately 70 pounds when she was found on Tuesday, police said. Her body was also burned and wrapped in a blanket, according to the arrest warrants.
MORE: Man charged with murder of 2 women at same address, 7 months apart
The exact cause of death is still under investigation.
A relative of one of the suspects found her body in the trunk of a car parked in a shopping center parking lot in Duluth Tuesday night and called 911, police said. The suspect -- Eric Hyun, 26 -- allegedly asked the family member to retrieve an item for him from the car while he was in the hospital for unspecified injuries, police said.
The ensuing investigation led detectives to a house associated with Hyun in Lawrenceville, where evidence of the beatings was found in the basement, police said.
MORE: Arrest made in 1994 cold case murder of Virginia mother after DNA testing, confession: Police
In addition to Hyun, four other adults -- Gawom Lee, 26; Joonho Lee, 26; Juoonhyum Lee, 22; and Hyunji Lee, 25 -- and a 15-year-old were arrested and charged with felony murder, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another, police said.
Police said Friday that they have also secured multiple criminal street gang warrants for each of the suspects.
Georgia law describes a criminal street gang as "any organization, association, or group of three or more persons associated in fact, whether formal or informal, which engages in criminal gang activity," police said.
An attorney for Joonho Lee told ABC News he has no comment at this time. ABC News has reached out to the attorneys for Gawom Lee and Hyunji Lee for comment.
Online court records did not include any attorney information for Hyun and Juoonhyum Lee.
Three of the suspects are brothers, while Hyunji Lee is the girlfriend of one of the suspects, Madiedo said. All live at the home except for Hyun, who at one time lived there, Madiedo said.
Detectives do not believe there are any other victims or suspects, Madiedo said.
The victim was not publicly identified by police, who said Thursday that her family in South Korea had not yet been notified of her death.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- China’s economy shows sparks of life, despite persisting weakness in troubled real estate sector
- André 3000 announces debut solo album, featuring no lyrics: 'I don't want to troll people'
- Google CEO Sundar Pichai returns to court to defend internet company for second time in two weeks
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenges Teamsters president Sean O'Brien to fight at Senate hearing
- Ukraine says it now has a foothold on the eastern bank of Dnieper River near Kherson
- In 'The Killer,' there's a method to his badness
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Firefighters extinguish small Maui wildfire that broke out during wind warning
Ranking
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Gwyneth Paltrow says her husband is similar to late Bruce Paltrow: 'I finally chose my dad'
- Work resumes at Montana mine where 24-year-old worker was killed in machinery accident
- 11 ex-police officers sentenced in 2021 killings of 17 migrants and 2 others in northern Mexico
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Extremist-linked rebels kill at least 44 villagers in separate attacks in Congo’s volatile east
- Report Charts Climate Change’s Growing Impact in the US, While Stressing Benefits of Action
- Donald Trump's Truth Social has lost $23 million this year. Its accountants warn it may not survive.
Recommendation
Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
Energy Department tries to boost US battery industry with another $3.5 billion in funding
Venezuelan arrivals along U.S. southern border drop after Biden starts deportations
US Army to overturn century-old convictions of 110 Black soldiers
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
2 women accused of helping Georgia inmate who escaped jail last month
Taika Waititi on ‘Next Goal Wins’ and his quest to quit Hollywood
Peter Seidler, Padres owner whose optimism fueled big-spending roster, dies at 63