6 ‘Soldiers of Christ’ members arrested in US after Korean woman’s body found in car boot
- The victim, who was starved and beaten for weeks before she died, is believed to have recently moved to the US from South Korea to join the religious group
- The five adults and one teenager from Lawrenceville, Georgia, are facing murder, false imprisonment and other charges
Five adults and a 15-year-old self-described as “Soldiers of Christ” religious group members were in custody Thursday on murder charges after a woman’s body was found in the boot of a car parked outside a popular spa in Atlanta’s suburbs.
Investigators said that someone reported the discovery on Tuesday night outside a Korean spa and sauna in Duluth. Authorities said the killing does not appear to be connected to the spa.
The victim, according to arrest warrants, was starved and beaten for weeks before she eventually died. Her identity has not been released.
Facing charges of felony murder, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another are Eric Hyun, 26, of Suwanee; Gawom Lee, 26; Joonho Lee, 26; Juoonhyum Lee, 22; Hyunji Lee, 25, and a 15-year-old, all from Lawrenceville.
Each of them also faces multiple gang-related charges. Under Georgia law, a criminal street gang is “any organisation, association, or group of three or more persons associated in fact, whether formal or informal, which engages in criminal gang activity”.
All are being held without bond. It was unknown if any of them had a lawyer who could speak on their behalf. Jail records do not list a lawyer’s name and they were not yet listed in Gwinnett County online court records.