Conclusion: Victoria BC: Murder suspect had violent past

by Barry ORegan | September 6, 2007 at 05:57 am

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You know if he had a violent past, why the hell was he released back into society. Again it seems our elected officials let us down once again.

VICTORIA -- The man believed to have murdered his son, his wife and her parents before killing himself had a violent and troubled past.

Peter Hyun Joon Lee was accused of holding and threatening a man, forcing him to mash his own toe with a rock.

He was also charged with assaulting his wife.

A woman who said she was a family friend carries flowers to the site of a murder-suicide on King George Terrace in Victoria Wednesday.

Darren Stone - Victoria Times Colonist

And he faced lawsuits from former employees at his restaurant, one who claimed he slashed her hand and another who said he was never paid for his work as a chef.

Lee, 38, is one of five people found dead in his Oak Bay home on Tuesday. His body, along with that of his six-year-old son Christian Thomas Jin Young Lee, his estranged wife Sunny Yong Sun Park, 32, Park's parents, Kum Lea Chun, 59, and Moon Kyu Park, 66, who were visiting from Korea, were removed from the house yesterday.

Lee and Park were seeking a divorce.

Lee was under conditions not to contact his wife, visit the family home, visit their restaurant, the Guru Korean bar and grill on Fort Street, or possess any weapons, such as a knife.

The restrictions were imposed after police said Lee deliberately drove his vehicle into a pole, causing Park to break her arm. Lee was charged with unlawfully causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and aggravated assault.

He was due in court on Oct. 24 charged with uttering threats and unlawful confinement of Richard Park, 21, no relation to Lee's wife, in July 2006.

Park said in an interview that Lee had promised him a job and then changed his mind, prompting Park to call Lee a liar.

"I said, 'Thank you for lying to me' and I hung up," said Park.

Later, Park said, Lee stopped Park and his girlfriend on the street and said he didn't like being called a liar.

Park said Lee forced them into his car and drove them to a beach. Lee sat Park down on a log and then struck him hard across the forehead with his hand, and told him he was going to pay. He made Park get down on his knees and beg for his safety.

"He said, he's going to cripple me, he's going to kill me," said Park.

Lee then engaged Park in a bizarre interrogation. Ever lied? Ever done drugs? Ever stolen? Every time Lee discerned a transgression he would stack a little rock on the log.

Finally, he demanded Park fetch the biggest rock he could find and smash his own foot with it. Park said he was scared enough to do it.

After the toe-smashing Lee drove away, with Park's girlfriend, forcing Park to limp home to his apartment.

After the five deaths, Park considers himself fortunate: "I was lucky, I just followed what he said."

In December 2004, Eunju Song claimed that Lee slashed her wrist in the kitchen of the restaurant, causing a 1.5-centimetre cut. During the ride to the hospital, she said, Lee told her to say she was cut at home and offered $200 as an incentive.

On March 26, 2005, the woman claimed, Lee grabbed her repeatedly, including by the throat, and slammed her back and head against a stone wall, hitting her in the face, and choking her. Criminal charges were laid in the March incident but were stayed by the Crown.

Lee was a longtime member of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, where he was trained in using weapons, as well as detecting and neutralizing explosive devices.

Lee joined HMCS Malahat, a navy reserve unit, in 1985, and served with the rank of master seaman.

Peter Shin, of Victoria Today Korean News, said it's not uncommon for Koreans to keep their family problems "in the family."

"Culturally we're different," Shin said. "Normally we try to solve family conflict inside the family -- not revealing it to the community. It's kind of shameful -- they want to hide it. The relationship between Peter Lee and his wife was serious, according to his friends. Seriously bad.

Restaurateur Peter Hyun Joon Lee fatally stabbed his estranged wife,
their six-year-old son and two grandparents before using the
double-edged knife to kill himself, a B.C. regional coroner said
Thursday.

Bodies are taken out of the house in the Victoria suburb of Oak Bay on Wednesday Sept. 5, 2007. (CP / Adrian Lam)

Lee and his family were found dead early Tuesday in an upscale Oak Bay home after police received a 911 call from the house.

Regional coroner Rose Stanton said a 10-centimetre-long double-edged blade was seized from the home.

"I will say that all of the victims had multiple
stab wounds," she told reporters, adding that "some of the victims had
defensive wounds."

Police said a frantic woman called 911 for help
at 3:06 a.m. Tuesday night, when the murders took place -- apparently
within minutes of each another, according to a coroner.

Stanton said that 38-year-old Lee was the last to die, officially calling it a murder-suicide.

Earlier in the day, police officially confirmed the identities of the five family members. In a press release posted on the Saanich Police website, the five deceased individuals are named as:

Peter Hyun Joon Lee, age 38
Christian Thomas Jin Young Lee, age six
Yong Sun Park, age 32
Kum Lea Chun, age 59
Moon Kyu Park, age 66

Lee and Park were in the midst of a bitter divorce. Stanton said the two older victims were Park's parents.

Ongoing investigation

The bodies were finally removed on Wednesday evening after dozens of investigators spent a second full day at the house.

Lee was facing several criminal charges and was scheduled to appear in court next week.

A search of court documents showed that Lee had
been out on bail for a July 31 incident in which police say he tried to
hurt his wife by driving their SUV into a telephone pole.

Police had recommended he stay in jail until his
court hearing, and now B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal is asking
questions about the decision to free him.

"It may well have been the case where the Crown
may have gone in there and agreed to the release without all the facts
being known," he told CTV British Columbia. "But those things are still
being investigated. I don't want to speculate as to what took place."

Criminal lawyer Michael Butterfield said no one could have predicted Lee's actions.

"I'm sure that the judge and prosecutor are heartsick, but they acted within the law and they acted appropriately," he said.

Butterfield added that "it's impossible to tell
when people are going to do these sorts of things. If every person who
the police said should remain behind bars was kept in custody, our
jails would be 10 times the size they are."

Lee's record includes criminal charges for
aggravated assault, dangerous driving causing injury, and forcible
confinement dating back to 2005.

Divorce proceedings had been launched in August between Lee and his wife, court records show.

And CP cited small claims court documents filed
in December of last year, that showed Lee was being sued by Eunju Song,
a former employee who alleged he assaulted her twice.

Song, an employee of Lee's The Guru of Korea Bar
and Grill, filed documents seeking more than $25,000 in damages
stemming from claims Lee slashed her right hand in the kitchen of the
restaurant in December 2004.

Song also claimed Lee assaulted her in March
2005, grabbing her by the throat, slamming her head against a stone
wall, hitting her face and choking her.