Wyandotte woman fatally stabbed, suspect sets self on fire during arrest
WYANDOTTE, Mich. (FOX 2) - After a 55-year-old woman was fatally stabbed, the accused killer set himself on fire as police were in the process of arresting him.
On March 23, coworkers of Hee Jung Pak-Kim reported that she had not come into work for several days, prompting police to check on her. Officers found Pak-Kim dead inside her Wyandotte home at the 2700 block of 10th Street.
Police suspect 59-year-old Sung Ho Jin stabbed Pak-Kim to death before fleeing the scene in her car, heading south.
Sung Ho Jin, 59, is accused of murdering a 55-year-old woman and fleeing to Ohio in her vehicle. As police were arresting him, the suspect set himself on fire inside the car.
Jin and the victim's vehicle were located in Akron, Ohio by the Akron Police Department on Monday, according to a police release. Jin led officers on a brief car chase. He then stopped the vehicle, got out, brandished a knife, reentered the car, and intentionally set himself on fire inside it.
While ablaze, the suspect jumped out of the vehicle – which is when the flames were extinguished.
Sung Ho Jin, 59, is accused of murdering a 55-year-old woman and fleeing to Ohio in her vehicle. As police were arresting him, the suspect set himself on fire inside the car.
The victim's friend, Angela Hasse, said the suspect made romantic and sexual advances towards Pak-Kim that got progressively more aggressive each time she turned him down.
"He's psychotic and he needs help. There's something wrong with him," Hasse said.
Hasse met Pak Kim 15 years ago when she was a nail artist turned entrepreneur who opened her own sushi spot in Southgate called SushiQ. The accused killer was hired as the head chef and was a friend of the victim's husband.
"She's an amazing person," the friend said through tears. "She would take care of her workers and give them a place to live if they didn't have a place to live. …She was just that kind of person, had that heart."
Pak-Kim had given Jin a car and allowed him to live in her multi-family home in Wyandotte, where she lived.
Hasse said Jin's advances began after Pak-Kim's husband died last fall.
"He was making her feel uncomfortable. She didn't like to be around him by herself," she added.
It got to the point where Hasse and others offered her a place to stay to get away from him – even though he was staying at her home.
"Was the situation even worse than she was telling us?" Hasse wondered.
 Hee Jung Pak-Kim
It is still unclear what caused Jin to murder Pak-Kim.
The victim's family is still in Korea. Her friends in Michigan want her to be remembered for her life, not her brutal death.
"I just want justice for her because she doesn't have anybody here to be her voice, so I feel like we need to be her voice for her as friends," Hasse said.
Jin was taken to an Ohio hospital where he is in police custody. He is still in critical condition after suffering burns on his face and body.
Man sets self on fire during arrest for fatal stabbing, Wyandotte police say
Sung Ho Jin, 59, is accused of murdering a 55-year-old woman and fleeing to Ohio in her vehicle. As police were arresting him, the suspect set himself on fire inside the car.