NY NY - Su-Ya Kim, Queens, 29 Jun 1991

UMfanforever

Active Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2008
Messages
401
Reaction score
108
Dailymotion - Su-Ya Kim - a News & Politics [email]video@@AMEPARAM@@http://www.dailymotion.com[/email]/swf/xaepc6_suya@@AMEPARAM@@xaepc6_suya

(Above, the case on Unsolved Mysteries, a TV show popular from the late 1980s - early 2000s)

Su-Ya Kim
A woman’s remains are found in a New York dumpster.

mur_su_ya_kim1.jpg

Su-Ya Kim

mur_su_ya_kim2.jpg

The main suspect in the case


CASE DETAILS

mur_su_ya_kim3.jpg

Su-Ya’s nude body was found in a dumpster

New York City has always promised the hope of a new start to immigrants like Su-Young Kim and his wife, Su-Ya. In 1981, they married in Seoul, South Korea, then moved to the United States. Su-Young and Su-Ya worked in flea markets until they were finally able to open two stores, one in Long Island and the other in Bushwick, a section of Brooklyn known for its ethnic diversity.
As the business grew, so did the Kim family. Su-Ya and Su-Young had two sons, and often the whole family could be found at the Brooklyn store. The Kims eventually moved to a spacious apartment in Queens. There, on the afternoon of June 29, 1991, just five days after Su-Young and Su-Ya had celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary, Su-Ya left the boys with their grandmother while she went shopping. When Su-Young came home at 8 PM, his wife had not returned from her shopping trip. He called all her friends, but no one knew where she was. Su-Young’s concern mounted after he found Su-Ya’s car still parked in the garage, its engine stone cold:
“My wife had never been out that late for the 10 years of our marriage. I was getting more and more worried. I could not stop thinking that something bad must have happened to her. I stayed up all night waiting for her but she did not come home.”
mur_su_ya_kim4.jpg

A guard caught a man in the alley at 3:00 AM

The next day, Su-Young Kim was summoned to the medical examiner’s office to identify a body:
“I could not and did not want to believe what was going on. As soon as I recognized my wife’s body, I felt everything was over. The whole world seemed to crash down on me. I could not think of anything else except my children.”
Su-Ya Kim had been stabbed nine times. Her body was dumped in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, seven miles from the Kims’ apartment in Queens. Although she was nude, there was no evidence of rape. Su-Ya appeared to be the victim of random violence. But unlike many random crimes, this one had a witness. Joe Jones was a private security guard hired to patrol an abandoned building in Bedford Stuyvesant. Around 3:00 AM, ten hours after Su-Ya had disappeared, Jones noticed a man behind a building:
“He hesitated a couple seconds. And he said what if I give you $20. So I said yeah, okay. So at that time when I’m taking the $20, I see that he had blood on him. So I said, how you get blood on you like that?”
mur_su_ya_kim5.jpg

An ambulance arrived, but it was too late

The man’s demeanor made Jones suspicious. He got a brief glimpse of the license plate before the car backed out:
“He gets in the car, drives away, but he stops at the corner. I think he thought I was going to go back and see what he put in the garbage. And I really got suspicious when he was looking at me and I was looking at him. So when I went back, I looked on the ground and I saw spots, spots of blood going toward the garbage can.”
Joe Jones recruited a friend who happened by. Together, they cautiously searched the contents of the dumpster. Amidst layers of debris, they saw a woman’s hand. It was the body of Su-Ya. In an uncanny coincidence, the first vehicle to pass by was an ambulance, but it was too late. Su-Ya had already been dead for hours. Thanks to Joe Jones, however, Detective Derrick J. Parker had a description of the killer and his car:
“We ran all the Nissans that fit that description with that plate number in New York City and we tried to match registered owners by using a partial plate. And we were able to come up with one match.”
The vehicle was registered to a Taiwanese exchange student at a Long Island college. She said she had not driven it since about ten o’clock the night before. There was no blood in or on the car. And when Detective Parker checked the engine, he found it had not been driven for hours:
“There was a blue Nissan that fit the description that Mr. Jones told us, however it wasn’t the car.”
Police then began to look at their star witness, Joe Jones, as a suspect. They requested that Jones take a lie detector test. He passed with flying colors and police were positive he had nothing to do with Su-Ya’s murder.
For nearly two years, Su-Young Kim stayed in the United States, but the memories of his wife proved too painful to bear. In April of 1993, he shut down his business and returned with his two little boys to South Korea:
“I could not stand being in the store anymore because everything there reminded me of my wife. Now there are no good memories for me here in America. Since it happened, I lost all my hopes and dreams. I have suffered so much. I’m still struggling hard to get over my wife’s death for the sake of our children. I still truly love and miss her.”
Police have one particular theory which may yet help identify Su-Ya’s killer. The dumpster in Bedford-Stuyvesant was not easily visible from the street, so police believe the killer may be a delivery man or a cab driver, someone with detailed knowledge of the neighborhood.


http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/mur_su_ya_kim.htm
 



If i could read Korean, i could find out more about this case going to Korea, then i could find in any US newspapers.
this case is REALLY cold!
having a language barrier did not help matters, though that should not have any bearing in this case.
he has gone back home, and his wife's death is still unsolved.
Love to have someone from Korea, join here, and tell us the latest updates, which i doubt there is!

Would love to see a map on Google, linking the three sites.
where she lived, where she was found, and the car they located at the university.

I wish they still had that 20 dollar bill for DNA, for skin cells.
and they should have checked all of those type of vehicles, as many as possible, to look for blood in the trunk.
seems to me they only had a interest in the one the plate belong to.
and speaking of the plate, besides having an interest in REAL Asian women, i would say he may have exchange plates with that Asian woman at the college, since she had a car similar to his, he could have simply removed her plate, and attached it to his, then returned later and put it back on the woman s car...
I would say they were connected, because of the fact, the victim was asian, and the plate/car belong to an Asian woman.

i believe the guards story, i believe he seen what he reported to the Police.
I kinda disagree with the delivery person, and or taxi driver theory, since the building she was found at was vacant.

But this POI, whom i believe, was the killer just as the guard reported, had an interest in Asian women, he killed one, took the plates of another.
could have been a student at that time, and known in advance, about the car. though he made had a mercury instead of what was posted, i believe they look somewhat alike back then, but unsure.

her car was still in the garage area, where she lived, so she never made it to her car, but taken before she was able to leave, is what i get from the video...
so was he stalking her, after seeing her at the store?, being a diverse neighborhood, he could have been living there, and seen her many times at the store?

he could have killed her, right there in that vacant building, but im sure they searched for a blood trail leading into there, but more then likely, any trail was going back to the trunk of the vehicle.

she was found only around 7 miles from her home, and the college was not extremely far either, so i would say it was someone from around the neighborhood, though it would seem, someone around that community would have recognize the image made of the POI, when they shown that to the community.

but since this was an Asian women, from another country, and where this crime occurred, im not really sure how much of what was done in this matter, not saying LE did a though job, just saying perhaps solving this case at the time, was not at the top of the list.

just having that guard as a witness, was a blessing, at least that gives us something to go on. i believe his story!
this guy, may had picked her for being foreign, besides Asian, thinking when found, not much interest would be generated, since she was forgein, and there was that language barrier, as far as police looking into the case, but just speculation on that.

that composite sketch, needing glasses to drive at night, and perhaps throughout the day.
seems, someone would have recognize that image, dressed as if he had come from a local gym, before adducing then killing this woman.

he took her from the apartment, and put her into his car, before she got into hers, probably the trunk, he took her somewhere close by, within the 7 miles, perhaps that vacant building.....he killed her there, but uncertain, and then put her in the dumpster, knowing she would be found evidently, but had not planned on it being that night.
he went back to the college and put the plates back on the Asians woman car.
for he drove a mercury vehicle, I am almost certain of it.

afterthought...
in case he was a student at one of the local colleges, i would get the year books from that time, and start with the one where the plates was match to the Asian woman's car, and look through the year books, and see if any persons in there match the composite sketch.
This may have been his first, and only time in killing a woman, for the fear he experience at almost being caught on that night, had to be over whelming, and may have stared him straight.........but he still needs to pay for the pain and suffering he has caused to this family.

ALL OF THE ABOVE IS JUST SPECULATION, AND ASSUMPTIONS ON MY PART, NOTHING FACTUAL OR FOR CERTAIN.
 
Bed-Stuy is a pretty bad neighborhood. It used to really bad although I think in the last few years it has been cleaned up some but in the early 90's it was not a good neighborhood.

I wonder if LE has been able to make any connection between Joe Jones and the blue car. It is interesting he is able to give a description and partial and it leads to a female whose car had not been driven recently and showed no signs of blood. Jones stated the man was covered in blood and there were blood spots leading from the car to the dumpster so I would think the car would most definitely have blood in it. It seems to me that Jones knew that car somehow and gave it as false information.

I know he passed the LDT but guilty people have passed before with flying colors. There is a reason they are not admissable in court.
 
I believe Joe Jones is innocent....that's what my gut tells me. We have to remember it was dark, and he got only a glimpse of the license plate. He easily could have been mistaken on it. Also could have had plates switched like Mr. T said. I wonder if luminol was used on the Asian student's car. It does seem like, though, it was just a coincidence on the make and model of the car and the glimpse of the license plate just didnt' get the correct info.
 
As a fan of Unsolved Mysteries, I've known of this case for years. It is such a terrible tragedy; I have access to many news databases that go a long way back, and it's sad to say that this case drew next to no coverage at the time, from what I can tell, outside the few years later UM profile. The year this murder was committed there were more than 2,000 murders in the five boroughs - a dreadful time for the city.

It seems very likely this case will never be solved. Too sad.
 
I wonder what part of Queens her, her husband and their 2 sons lived in and also where their grandmother lived as that was the last place any one saw her. I assume this was the last area anyone saw her in since they mention how far she was found from her home and not from either place of business.

about 6 months after Su-Ya Kim's murder another woman, Yolanda Jacob, 23, was stabbed to death and found in her Crown Heights home. Crown Heights is a town right next to Bedford-Stuyvesant where Su-Ya Kim was found.

then just a few days after Yolanda Jacobs murder another woman, Laura Lee Gossmann, also 23 years old, living in Queens (like Su-Ya Kim was) was killed (strangled) and her body was dumped off the BQE.
-In everything I have read about Su-Ya Kim she was found 7 miles from her Queens home and oddly enough Woodside, where Laura Lee Gossmann lived and was last seen is 7 miles from Bedford-Stuyvesant. thing is a lot of places in Queens can be 7 miles from Bedford-Stuyvesant depending which direction you go.

The Journeys of Two Young Women End in New York, in Death
 
oh I just noticed the grandmother came to their queens home to watch their 2 sons. wonder where exactly in queens that is.

I did find this Yong Su Kim - New York, NY Property Records Search | RealtyHop which lists a Yong Su Kim as living at 41-4 Forley Street from June 26 1991 (3 days before Su-Ya Kim was last seen at their home) until it the home was transferred to a new owner in 1994. I know they moved back in 1993 but they could have had a family member or a realtor in charge of the home sale until it went through in 1994. I wonder if the home may have been an anniversary gift as their anniversary was around that time? All speculation of course. So many unanswered questions and not enough info.

Not sure if that is the right address for Su-Kim Yong and Su-Ya Kim but worthy of note - it is roughly 7 miles from Bedford-Stuyvesant (where Su-Ya was found and neighboring town of Crown Heights where Yolanda Jacob was stabbed 6 months later) and that Forley street address is in Elmhurst, neighboring town to Woodside where a few days after Yolanda Jacobs was killed Laura Lee Gossmann was last seen. Laura Lee Gossmann's body was found between her address and this address I found. If this is the right address the Kim's and Laura only lived about 2.5 miles from one another.
 
Last edited:


If i could read Korean, i could find out more about this case going to Korea, then i could find in any US newspapers.
this case is REALLY cold!
having a language barrier did not help matters, though that should not have any bearing in this case.
he has gone back home, and his wife's death is still unsolved.
Love to have someone from Korea, join here, and tell us the latest updates, which i doubt there is!

Would love to see a map on Google, linking the three sites.
where she lived, where she was found, and the car they located at the university.

I wish they still had that 20 dollar bill for DNA, for skin cells.
and they should have checked all of those type of vehicles, as many as possible, to look for blood in the trunk.
seems to me they only had a interest in the one the plate belong to.
and speaking of the plate, besides having an interest in REAL Asian women, i would say he may have exchange plates with that Asian woman at the college, since she had a car similar to his, he could have simply removed her plate, and attached it to his, then returned later and put it back on the woman s car...
I would say they were connected, because of the fact, the victim was asian, and the plate/car belong to an Asian woman.

i believe the guards story, i believe he seen what he reported to the Police.
I kinda disagree with the delivery person, and or taxi driver theory, since the building she was found at was vacant.

But this POI, whom i believe, was the killer just as the guard reported, had an interest in Asian women, he killed one, took the plates of another.
could have been a student at that time, and known in advance, about the car. though he made had a mercury instead of what was posted, i believe they look somewhat alike back then, but unsure.

her car was still in the garage area, where she lived, so she never made it to her car, but taken before she was able to leave, is what i get from the video...
so was he stalking her, after seeing her at the store?, being a diverse neighborhood, he could have been living there, and seen her many times at the store?

he could have killed her, right there in that vacant building, but im sure they searched for a blood trail leading into there, but more then likely, any trail was going back to the trunk of the vehicle.

she was found only around 7 miles from her home, and the college was not extremely far either, so i would say it was someone from around the neighborhood, though it would seem, someone around that community would have recognize the image made of the POI, when they shown that to the community.

but since this was an Asian women, from another country, and where this crime occurred, im not really sure how much of what was done in this matter, not saying LE did a though job, just saying perhaps solving this case at the time, was not at the top of the list.

just having that guard as a witness, was a blessing, at least that gives us something to go on. i believe his story!
this guy, may had picked her for being foreign, besides Asian, thinking when found, not much interest would be generated, since she was forgein, and there was that language barrier, as far as police looking into the case, but just speculation on that.

that composite sketch, needing glasses to drive at night, and perhaps throughout the day.
seems, someone would have recognize that image, dressed as if he had come from a local gym, before adducing then killing this woman.

he took her from the apartment, and put her into his car, before she got into hers, probably the trunk, he took her somewhere close by, within the 7 miles, perhaps that vacant building.....he killed her there, but uncertain, and then put her in the dumpster, knowing she would be found evidently, but had not planned on it being that night.
he went back to the college and put the plates back on the Asians woman car.
for he drove a mercury vehicle, I am almost certain of it.

afterthought...
in case he was a student at one of the local colleges, i would get the year books from that time, and start with the one where the plates was match to the Asian woman's car, and look through the year books, and see if any persons in there match the composite sketch.
This may have been his first, and only time in killing a woman, for the fear he experience at almost being caught on that night, had to be over whelming, and may have stared him straight.........but he still needs to pay for the pain and suffering he has caused to this family.

ALL OF THE ABOVE IS JUST SPECULATION, AND ASSUMPTIONS ON MY PART, NOTHING FACTUAL OR FOR CERTAIN.

do they know which long island college the car owner was going to at the time? there are so many colleges around here and Long Island. I'm in queens but on the border and often times people will mistakenly refer to my area as Long Island even though it is Queens. I live within walking distance of 2 colleges and another 3 are 1 bus ride away, however there are so many other colleges also further out in long island.

I too am very curious about which school it was and how close it was to where she was found and where she lived. I wish I could find an exact address of the vacant building where she was found.
 
I made a map to show how close all 3 of these murders are, each woman was killed in 1991 with no signs of rape. Like Su-Ya Kim I can find little information on Yolanda Jacobs and Laura Lee Gossman.

Su-Ya Kim -- does anyone know her age when she died?
address - I found this address listed to someone with the same name as her husband -
41-4 Forley street Elmhurst queens
* while I do not know if this was her address for sure it is said her body was found 7 miles from her Queens home and this address is 7 miles from bed-stuy
stabbed to death June 29, 1991 body found nude with no signs of rape in a dumpster behind an abandoned building in Bed Stuy Brooklyn
I added Bushwick to the map as the Kims had a store in that neighborhood and it neighbors the town where her body was found

Yolanda Jacobs, 23 years old
address - I can not find an exact address for her only the town - Crown Heights Brooklyn - which neighbors the town where Su-Ya Kim was found
stabbed to death December 1991 in her home. no signs of rape. it is believed she caught a burglar in the act so he killed her using a knife from her kitchen.

Laura Lee Gossman, 23 years old
address - Broadway and 61 street Woodside Queens (a mile or so from where she was killed and less than 2 miles from the address I found for someone named Su-young Kim (su-ya's husband)
strangled to death the same week as Yolanda Jacobs in December 1991. no signs of rape. robbery was believed to be the motive. from the news report, i found it sounded like she was killed on a walk path where her body was found just a mile from her home with a curtain that had been discarded there.

I have no proof that these murders are connected, but I often lump the 3 together in my mind because of the closeness of some of the locations between them, the fact they all were murdered in 1991 and had no signs of rape.

I wonder if robbery was the motive for killing Su-Ya Kim. why strip her though and dump her body elsewhere?
 

Attachments

  • queens91.png
    queens91.png
    739.6 KB · Views: 13
Last edited:
Lengthy article cross-posting threads with this one.. rbbm.

Aug 7 '23 by: Mary Murphy
''The Suffolk County District Attorney, Raymond Tierney, released a 32-page court document on July 14 revealing Heuermann did extensive online searches for torture *advertiser censored* and child *advertiser censored*—looking up topics like 10-year-old school girl and age 12 child girl, among many others.

And there was another murder in 1991, in June of that year, with a Bushwick connection.

A young Korean immigrant, Su Ha Kim, who owned a store in Bushwick, was found naked in a dumpster, fatally stabbed in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The killer had inflicted nine knife wounds.


The program “Unsolved Mysteries” has profiled the murder multiple times.

A security guard patrolling the Bedford-Stuyvesant property said he had come upon a white man with glasses near a dumpster at 3 a.m. on June 29, 1991. When the guard told the man he was illegally on the premises, the man offered the security guard $20 not to notify authorities. The guard said he noticed blood on the man’s shirt. When the man left, the security guard checked the dumpster and found Su Ha Kim’s body.''

''The young mother had two sons and was married for ten years to her husband. The couple had opened two stores, including one in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

The security guard gave police a license plate number that led them to a car at C.W. Post on Long Island.

It belonged to a female Asian exchange student at the college who had not driven the vehicle the night before.


The case remains unsolved.

But true crime researchers note that Rex Heuermann graduated from the New York Institute of Technology, a one-minute drive from the C.W. Post campus in the Old Brookville/Westbury area of Long Island.''
 
Last edited:
The killer could be RH imo

Side by side pics not permitted iirc, but hopefully ''stacked'' pics are ok..imo
1691498341563.png

1691498521402.png
Suspect sketch.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
286
Guests online
4,204
Total visitors
4,490

Forum statistics

Threads
591,552
Messages
17,954,783
Members
228,532
Latest member
GravityHurts
Back
Top