CALIFORNIA — Two defendants were sentenced today for the murders of two men, a woman and her two children during a bloody rampage seven years ago in Quartz Hills, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Jae Shim, 46, was sentenced to five consecutive terms of life in state prison without the possibility of parole, while Steve Kwon, 45, was sentenced to 125 years to life in prison.
Both men pleaded guilty to the first-degree murders of Shim’s ex-wife Jenny Young Park, 34; her daughter, Jamie, 13; her son, Justin, 11; Young Park’s cousin, Joseph Ciganek, 60; and Young’s boyfriend, Si Young Yoon, also 34. Shim and Kwon also pleaded guilty to one count of arson of an inhabited structure.
The five victims were viciously stabbed and bludgeoned to death on June 23, 2008. The two children, along with their mother, also were set on fire.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman with the Major Crimes Division, who prosecuted the case along with Deputy District Attorneys Tannaz Mokayef and Eileen Kim, said Shim became enraged that his ex-wife was recently engaged to Yoon.
Shim enlisted the help of Kwon, a lifelong friend from Korea to murder the victims. Ciganek’s wife also was an intended victim, but she survived because she was not home when the crimes occurred.
In February, Shim also admitted the special circumstances of lying in wait and multiple murders and that he personally used a Samurai sword and baseball bat to stab and beat his ex-wife and the other victims to death.
As part of his plea agreement, Shim helped lead authorities to the remains of Yoon, who had been missing for seven years. His remains were located in December 2014 in Mexico.
