The accused killer of a 55-year-old Michigan woman set himself on fire while police tried to arrest him Saturday, FOX2 reported.
On March 23, police found Jung Pak-Kim stabbed to death inside her home after coworkers reported she had been absent from work for several days, according to FOX2. Police suspected that a coworker, identified as 59-year-old Sung Ho Jin, stabbed Pak-Kim to death after he made numerous romantic and sexual advances toward her after her husband died last fall, FOX2 reported. (RELATED: Police Arrest Suspect After Soldier Found Stabbed To Death In Burning Car)
Wyandotte woman fatally stabbed, suspect sets self on fire during arrest https://t.co/RHRRNoc80c pic.twitter.com/jNzP4gVMWp
— FOX 2 Detroit (@FOX2News) March 27, 2024
The victim’s friend, Angela Hasse, said that Jin’s advances became increasingly aggressive each time Pak-Kim rejected him, according to the outlet.
“He’s psychotic and he needs help. There’s something wrong with him,” Hasse said of Jin, whom Pak-Kim hired as the head chef for her restaurant, FOX2 reported.
“She’s an amazing person,” Pak-Kim’s 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 a room in her multi-family home, according to the outlet.
But Hasse said that her friend became increasingly uncomfortable with Jin’s advances after her husband died, FOX2 reported.
“She didn’t like to be around him by herself,” Hasse said.
The motive for Pak-Kim’s murder is unknown but it is suspected that Jin stabbed her to death before fleeing the scene and heading south to Ohio, according to FOX2.
After Ohio police found Jin and the victim’s car in Akron, Jin led authorities on a brief chase that ended with the suspect getting out of the car and brandishing a knife before getting back in the vehicle and deliberately setting himself on fire, FOX2 reported.
Jin then jumped out of the car ablaze before police were able to extinguish the flames, according to the outlet.
Jin is currently in police custody at an Ohio hospital where he is in critical condition after sustaining burns on his face and body, FOX2 reported.