A man has been extradited from South Korea to New York to face charges related to a fatal stabbing in 2002.
Queens District Attorney Milinda Katz announced on Friday that Ho "Alex" Shin, 43, was arraigned on several charges in the stabbing death of Babylon resident Hyun Dae Kim, 22, inside a Flushing apartment on Jan. 6, 2002. He also charged with attempted murder for stabbing another victim who survived the attack.
Shin fled the country shortly after the attack, according to Katz.
“As alleged, 24 years ago, this defendant unleashed a brutal and senseless attack inside a Flushing apartment, repeatedly stabbing two young men and taking one of their lives. He then almost immediately fled the country in an attempt to evade accountability. No matter how much time passes, we do not give up on our victims and their families. Through steadfast collaboration with our federal and international law enforcement partners — including authorities in South Korea — my Extraditions Unit and Homicide Bureau located the defendant abroad and secured his return to Queens,” said Katz.
According to the indictment, the victims went to a female friend's apartment, along with Shin, after a night out. Shin then briefly left the apartment and called his unnamed co-defendant, who was 16 at the time, telling him to bring two knives. A short while later, Shin and his co-defendant went into the apartment and began stabbing Kim and his friend, Hyun Suk Yu, who tried to intervene.
According to the district attorney, Shin and his co-defendant immediately fled the scene, and Kim was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Investigators determined that the defendant told acquaintances that he had stabbed someone and needed to get out of town. The district attorney’s office and the NYPD had been trying to locate the defendant ever since.
The district attorney says Shin was arrested in South Korea on Dec. 8 and was extradited to New York on Feb. 12. He was remanded and ordered to return to court on Feb. 17. If convicted, he faces 50 years to life in prison.