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10-21-2020, 01:58 PM
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Sunkeun Kim Gets Life Without Parole for Wife's Death
Sunkeun Kim was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of his estranged wife, Madeline Kim, in the Town of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and sentenced Oct. 16, 2020, to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sunkeun Kim, then about 29, and Madeline Kim, then about 24 to 27 and also identified in some records by the maiden name Wegner, were estranged spouses from the Milwaukee area, including Franklin and Brookfield. In August and September 2018, Madeline reported battery, strangulation or suffocation, false imprisonment and threats. She said he slapped her, took her phone and keys, pushed her and strangled her until she lost consciousness after an argument involving alcohol limits and finances. She texted a friend, "save me." He had threatened to kill her, the dog and himself. Charges including strangulation and battery were filed against him in September 2018. He was released on bail, reported as about $15,000 or a lower cash bond, with a no-contact order. He later violated that condition by contacting Madeline at the UW-Milwaukee Student Union on Oct. 10, leading to felony bail-jumping charges and a GPS ankle-monitor requirement. Madeline filed for divorce on or about Oct. 29. The motive centered on the escalating domestic abuse, separation and divorce, and prior threats and violence. Madeline was killed overnight Friday, Nov. 16, into early Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018, at her condominium on Brookfield Lake Drive, near Bluemound and Brookfield roads. An autopsy found manual strangulation, or neck compression, with blunt-force trauma to the head was the primary cause of death. Her roommate, who had last seen her Nov. 15 before leaving for the weekend, returned Nov. 18, found the front door ajar and discovered Madeline on the bedroom floor. The roommate's 911 call brought police to the scene. Madeline's cellphone was missing, consistent with earlier incidents in which Sunkeun Kim took it. A neighbor reported several loud thumps from the unit overnight and saw a black Toyota SUV matching Sunkeun Kim's vehicle outside early Nov. 17. GPS data placed him near the condominium on the afternoon of Nov. 16. His phone contained deleted searches, later recovered by investigators, about removing an ankle bracelet, stabbing, neck injury, carotid bleeding, stun guns and related topics. There also were reported attempts involving the GPS device. The ankle monitor generated a tamper alert Nov. 19. Sunkeun Kim claimed it had battery problems and said he tried to remove it in the shower, but investigators recovered tamper data and location records placing him at the scene. Detectives noted abrasions on his left hand and a burn mark on his left arm. His mother reported that he moved about $23,000 from a joint account in early November. After his arrest, Sunkeun Kim told caseworkers, "I need you to tell my attorney I did the homicide. Obviously I'm on GPS." He had earlier said he had "just heard the news," did not want to go to prison and wanted to go home to Korea. Investigators also recovered the deleted phone searches. Sunkeun Kim was charged in November 2018 with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of felony bail jumping, along with related prior domestic charges in consolidated cases. After a 10-day jury trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court, he was convicted Oct. 9, 2020, of all charged offenses, including the homicide. Judge J. Arthur Melvin III imposed the sentence. Sunkeun Kim was the only defendant, and no second defendant was charged or convicted in connection with the homicide. The video is about 39 minutes of police interview-room footage. It presents the interview itself, with no narration or presenter.
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