A Korean man in his 30s living in Austin fatally stabbed his white wife, who had requested a divorce, before taking his own life.
According to local Austin news outlets, the Austin Police Department responded to a report from a relative concerned that the couple residing in the Riata Apartment complex, located at 5705 Diehl Trail in North Austin, could not be reached. Officers arrived at the apartment at 2:33 p.m. on September 24, two hours after receiving the call, and discovered two bodies with stab wounds inside the home.
The police identified the deceased as 34-year-old Youree Kang and his 25-year-old wife, Hannah Kang. Both had died from stab wounds, and authorities believe that Youree Kang killed his wife before committing suicide.
According to a report by People.com, Youree Kang had posted several concerning messages on his Facebook page in the days leading up to the incident.
“I’m terrified of what’s going to happen to me because everyone is instilling fear in me. Every time I ask, it’s like everyone knows something but won’t share it with me,” Youree wrote in a post the day before the killings.
“My wife has also been acting very strange lately. She’s not the same person I met. For 10 years, she stuck by my craziness, and now she’s quick to want a divorce. I was hoping we could continue to grow with each other,” he wrote later in the post.
In another post, he appeared to express remorse for starting a relationship with Hannah when he was 24 years old and she was a minor.
“I’ve been a menace to society, and I’d like to clear my name. I was in an abusive and toxic mindset when I first met my wife, Hannah. Upon getting to know her, she told me her age (she was a minor), and I still pursued a relationship with her. It was wrong of me, and I can never give her back the precious life she deserved,” he wrote.
Austin police’s preliminary investigation suggests that Youree Kang fatally stabbed his wife, who had requested a divorce, before taking his own life in a murder-suicide. Authorities are continuing to investigate to determine the exact motive behind the incident.
BY HYESUNG SOHN, HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
