Prosecution seeks 20-year prison term against 'Itaewon murder' suspect

By Lee Kyung-min

Arthur Patterson

Prosecutors demanded 20 years in prison for Arthur John Patterson, the key suspect of the “Itaewon murder” at the final hearing of his trial at the Seoul Central District Court, Friday.

The court is expected to deliver its ruling next month.

”The suspect in this case killed a person by fatally stabbing him nine times, either for fun or for no apparent reason,” a prosecutor said. “The brutal and bizarre nature of the crime is further compounded by the suspect’s failure to admit to the crime, not to mention him showing no remorse. His crime completely shattered the life of a family,” the prosecution said.

It asked the court to reflect the nationwide frustration and anxiety over the crime that remains unsolved for almost two decades.

The prosecution sought the term in accordance with sentencing guidelines which stipulate that suspects who were 18 or younger at the time of the murder are subject to a maximum of 20 years in prison, instead of a life sentence, the harshest punishment.

The Korean American, 37, denied the charges made against him for the last time.

“I did not stab Mr. Cho. It was Edward Lee who stabbed the victim. I only watched Lee stabbing Mr. Cho,” Patterson said.

Patterson was belatedly indicted in December 2011 over the stabbing death of a Korean student Cho Joong-pil at a Burger King restaurant in 1997. The trial began in September last year following his extradition here from the U.S.

The victim, Patterson, and Edward Kun Lee are the only three people who were present at the murder scene. Lee was initially indicted for killing Cho, but later acquitted in 1998.

Patterson claimed that Lee has been changing his testimony constantly following advice from his father, who has been present at every hearing for the past few months.

He added that Lee had no clear memory at the time of the murder, as he was under the influence of narcotics, adding that Lee’s father has been giving instructions to help get him convicted.

The prosecution-submitted evidence included earlier investigation reports by a prosecutor who indicted Lee in 1997.

Earlier, the victim’s mother, surnamed Lee, testified against Patterson demanding that the court bring justice for her dead son.

“My family’s life has been in a shambles for the past 19 years following the death of my son,” Lee told the court. “My son was a good-natured, selfless boy who had great academic prospect.”

In November last year, Seoul National University professor Lee Yoon-seong, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on the victim testified in court that it was possible for someone smaller than Cho to kill him, indicating Patterson who is small in stature.

In December last year, the court conducted an enactment of the murder using actors in a mock-up of the bathroom. Investigators for the prosecution recreated the mock-up as the original had been destroyed. The judge ordered the measure to help determine the credibility of the conflicting testimonies offered by Patterson and Lee.