Witness in Itaewon murder case testifies

A Korean-American who was cleared of killing a South Korean college student nearly two decades ago in the Itaewon murder case testified Wednesday that he saw murder suspect Arthur John Patterson stabbing the victim with a knife. 

Edward Lee, 36, who stood trial as a murder suspect 18 years ago, appeared at Seoul Central District Court as a witness this time in a reopened trial with Patterson as the new suspect.

The court opened a fresh investigation into the murder in which college student Cho Choong-pil was stabbed to death in April 1997 at Burger King restaurant in Itaewon, a multicultural district in Seoul frequented by expats.

Patterson, a 35-year-old U.S. citizen, was extradited to Korea on Sept. 23 to face a trial on charges of murdering Cho, who was found dead on the restroom floor with several wounds to his neck and chest. He died on the way to a hospital.

Lee was initially indicted on a murder charge in 1997 and sentenced to 20-year jail term, but later was cleared of the charge for lack of evidence. 

Prosecutors indicted Patterson on lesser charges, including elimination of evidence and possession of a dangerous weapon. He received an 18-month prison term, but was freed in an annual amnesty in 1998. 

During the questioning, Lee found it difficult to recall the situation in which the murder took place in April 1997, but the Korean-American said in the courtroom that he saw Patterson suddenly turning to the victim and stabbing him. 

“When the murder took place, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands,” he said. “Patterson suddenly started to stab him. I turned around and I was shocked.

“Cho was trying to hit the accused with his right hand, but Patterson stabbed him and kept stabbing him.” 

He admitted that there were only three people including Patterson, Cho and himself at the crime scene. But he continued to accuse Patterson of murdering Cho.

He also took issue with the credibility of the past investigation records and how he was treated during the questioning by the police and prosecutors. 

“I have consistently asked for an interpreter, but they didn’t provide me with one,” he said. “I was interrogated without an interpreter, coerced and threated during the first investigation for 17 hours. They didn’t let me go to sleep.” 

Lee has actively sought his rights at the court, refusing to answer personal questions, pointing out the prosecution’s evidence is wrong, demanding more pieces of paper to take notes, and asking for explanations when he did not understand the questions. 

While Lee was giving his testimonies, Patterson, who appeared in a sky-blue prisoner uniform, calmly yet sternly stared at Lee and the translator in turns. 

The mother of the victim Cho also took the witness stand and asked the court to heavily punish her son’s murderer at the hearing.

“Judges and prosecutors, please slap our son’s murderer with the heaviest punishment for our son who unfairly died,” Lee Bok-soo, 73, said in the courtroom.

“I don’t know what to say in front of the man who killed my son as I am too furious,” Cho’s mother said with her voice trembling with rage. 

“They (Patterson and Lee) are just sitting there shifting blame and denying their crime, which made me think that it is exactly the same as the trial 18 years ago,” she said. “If they have a conscience, they should come forward and apologize. They are only human beings in disguise.”

As the prosecution began showing pictures of Cho’s blood from the crime scene at the hearing, Cho’s mother expressed her discomfort and left the courtroom in the middle of it. 

The next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)