The court hearing of an apparently homeless man from Northern Virginia has been pushed back to allow more time to go through evidence. Attorneys of both sides agreed last Monday (Jan. 4) to move back the hearing to Jan. 19.
According to Frederick News Post, Circuit Judge G. Edward Dwyer Jr. has allowed the rescheduling of the hearing of Song Su Kim, who allegedly stabbed to death 63-year-old Korean missionary Chung Hwan Park. Kim is charged with with first-degree murder in the death of Park and attempted first-degree murder in the stabbing of his wife Ae Suk Ko.
The missionary couple comes from Suwon, South Korea and were working as volunteers for a Christian complex called the Anna Prayer Mountain Church Retreat Center in the Maryland city of Urbana as kitchen workers. The stabbing happened in the very same compound back in July 26, 2015.
The court ordered a mental health evaluation for Kim last September 2015, after the suspect entered a plea of not being criminally responsible due to mental health reasons. The evaluation will determine whether Kim was indeed driven by a mental disorder to not see the weight of criminal conduct.
30-year-old Kim was a beneficiary of the ministry that Park and his wife worked for, and was reportedly dropped off by his mother at the centre five days before the incident. CBS News reports that the charging documents state that Kim's motive for the murder was frustration over being treated badly by "All Koreans," and as a result felt the urge to "Attack a Korean." Deputy State's Attorney Nanci Hamm also told CBS News that Park was stabbed 13 times, while his wife was stabbed four times.
Song Su Kim of Falls Church, Virginia is a Korean-born U.S. citizen who moved to America as a child with his mother.
Ko, wife of Park, survived the attack. In an interview with The Washington Post, Ko said that she is happy that her husband is in heaven, but wishes that she was with him.
