A group known as the Soldiers for Christ, accused in the death of a Korean woman who was held captive in a Gwinnett County home for weeks, had photos of her decomposing body on their phones, a detective said Thursday during a preliminary hearing.
Seehe Cho’s body was found Sept. 12 in the trunk of a vehicle outside Jeju Sauna, a popular 24-hour Korean bathhouse on Gwinnett Place Drive in Duluth. The 33-year-old had been beaten and starved to death weeks earlier, police said, and her body weighed only 70 pounds.
Seven people have been accused of felony murder in her death, including several members of the same family. Six were scheduled to appear for Thursday’s hearing on probable cause, and a seventh, 26-year-old Eric Hyun, was already out of jail on $100,000 bond.
Hyun, Juoonhyum Lee, 22, Joonho Lee, 26, Hyunji Lee, 25, Gawom Lee, 26, and Mihee Lee, 54, are also facing charges of false imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another. All but Mihee Lee are charged under Georgia’s criminal street gang laws.
Mihee Lee is the mother of Juoonhyum, Joonho and 15-year-old Junyeoug Lee, who is also charged with murder, police said.
Cho came to the Lawrenceville area from South Korea over the summer in hopes the Soldiers For Christ would offer her a fresh start, Gwinnett police Detective Angela Carter testified at Thursday’s hearing.
“The reason why she wanted to come to the (United) States is because she was a victim of a sexual assault in Korea and had become very depressed after that incident,” Carter said. “And that she was coming to the States to start new and was going to come join a religious group.”
Police said Cho was held against her will for several weeks inside a home on Stable Gate, where she was abused and denied food until her death. Carter said Cho at some point realized she did not want to be part of the group and tried to escape.
Carter testified that Cho died sometime in August. She also told a judge that the suspects had photos and videos of Cho after she was dead.
Credit: Gwinnett County police
Credit: Gwinnett County police
“There was also a photo located of Seehe (Cho) deceased in the back storage room, and you were able to tell she was deceased ... because you could see her hands were already, had already started decomposing, as well as her feet,” Carter said.
In that photo, Cho was also seen wearing pajama pants that were recovered from a trash can located at the Gwinnet home, Carter added. Medical examiners said they believe malnourishment contributed to her death.
A magistrate judge bound the case over to Superior Court, where it will be considered by the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office. Hyun was not required to attend the hearing.
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