Months after slayings, case still open

ALEX DeMARBAN

June 12, 2008 at 2:59PM AKST

Eighteen months have passed, but no arrests have been made and no charges have been brought in the high-profile slayings of a Korean cab driver and an Alaska Native woman in Bethel.

However, investigators with the Alaska State Troopers continue gathering evidence and interviewing people about the cases, said Larry Elarton, Bethel’s new police chief.

“They were out here about three weeks ago, doing follow-up investigations,” he said.

On Dec. 5, 2007, Agnes Evan was found dead of blunt-force trauma to the stomach.

Early Dec. 10, 2007, Ju Young Joung, 41, was shot in the head in his cab.

The homicides unnerved residents in the city of 5,800. They are considered unrelated.  

Initially, Bethel police played the lead role in the investigations and troopers helped.

But police handed the cases to the troopers as the Bethel force dwindled and too many investigators left, Elarton said.

Eric Burroughs, an investigator with the state troopers based in Anchorage, has made several trips to the Bethel area, Elarton said.

Burroughs did not return phone calls.

Elarton said the wait doesn’t seem unusual, especially for homicide cases that lack immediate arrests, he said.

“Those usually take some time to rebuild and obtain evidence to make sure you have a proper case to get to the district attorney and tie up loose ends. I don’t think the timeframe is out of line,” he said.

Alex DeMarban can be reached at (907) 348-2444 or (800) 770-9830, ext. 444.