A California woman has been charged with murder after authorities say her husband was fatally assaulted with a flagpole inside their Palm Desert condominium.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies were called to the 35000 block of Gateway Drive around 9:47 a.m. Friday, Sept. 4, following a report of “unknown trouble.”
When deputies arrived, they found a person suffering from severe injuries that investigators said were consistent with a physical assault.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities have not publicly released his name while next of kin are being notified, but local reports identified him as the husband of 65-year-old Palm Desert resident Vicky Kim.
Investigators identified Kim as the suspect and arrested her the same day.
Court documents obtained by SFGATE allege Kim used a flagpole to inflict serious injuries on her husband.
She was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center following her arrest.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said the homicide investigation remains ongoing.
The case has also raised new questions because prosecutors say Kim had previously been accused of domestic violence against her husband.
Riverside County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Molly Smith said prosecutors charged Kim with a felony in January and obtained criminal protective orders intended to protect her husband.
According to Smith, prosecutors planned to “aggressively prosecute” the earlier case.
However, the district attorney’s office said a judge later resolved Kim’s cases as misdemeanors despite prosecutors’ objections, released her from custody and terminated the protective orders.
“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.
Kim and her husband reportedly lived at The Enclave, a gated condominium community in Palm Desert that markets itself as offering residents “luxury and style.”
Kim was scheduled to be arraigned Friday, Sept. 11, but the hearing was postponed after a judge said she had not been medically cleared to appear.
Her arraignment is now scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14.
It was not immediately clear whether Kim had retained an attorney.
Anyone with information about the killing is being asked to contact Riverside County’s Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-1700 or the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station at 760-836-1600.
Kim is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Asians; smh