Mrs. Doe and Mr. Doe had been high school sweethearts. They married and had two boys. All seemed well until a few years ago, Mr. Doe became unfaithful to his wife. But the marriage survived the extra-marital affair. Mr. Doe ended his affair and both Mr. and Mrs. Doe went to family counseling.

Another few uneventful years passed. Then Mr. Doe cheated on Mrs. Doe again by having another extra-marital affair. It was just too much for Mrs. Doe. This time, there would be no reconciliation and forgiving. She left the house with her two sons and moved into her parent’s home just a few miles away. It seemed at first, Mr. Doe was too busy with his new girlfriend to even care that his wife and children have left him. Eventually, Mr. Doe began to contact Mrs. Doe. It began at first as an attempt for yet another reconciliation. Mr. Doe was very persistent. He called her and tried to talk to her. He began following her to work and spying on her. When Mrs. Doe was not responsive to his plea for reconciliation, he became very abusive. He sent threatening letters that if she tried to divorce him that he would harm her. He also called numerous times harassing Mrs. Doe. Mrs. Doe saw Mr. Doe driving by the house, following her to and from work. It was too much.

Mrs. Doe began to write down all the accounts of how Mr. Doe made threats to her, called her, and followed her. Each time he called, she would write it down. It was overwhelming. So she attempted to get a restraining order, which was denied by a court commissioner. Afraid, but Mrs. Doe knew that she had to go on with her life, for her safety and her children. She filed for divorce and had the papers served on Mr. Doe.

One night, Mr. Doe decided to check if Mrs. Doe was at her parents home. He drove by and saw that her car was there. In fact, he saw Mrs. Doe two houses down, talking to a neighbor in front of his house. Mr. Doe was familiar with that neighbor. The neighbor, Officer J, was in fact a police officer who was a friend to Mrs. Doe’s parents. Mr. Doe parked his car about half a block away. He walked unnoticed close to where Mrs. Doe and the neighbor were talking. The house between Mrs. Doe’s parents and the neighbor belonged to a Korean man, Mr. Kim. Mr. Kim always had his big utility truck parked in his driveway. Mr. Doe hid behind this truck to spy on his wife. He saw his wife and Officer J talk for a few minutes, then enter the neighbor’s house for about a minute before they reappeared. Officer J then began to walk Mrs. Doe back to her parents house. Thinking that his wife and Officer J were having an affair, he picked up a cement electrical sidewalk cover. He crouched behind the truck and waited until his wife and Officer J walked by the truck. Springing up from his hiding place, Mr. Doe raised the cement block and smashed the block into Officer J’s head, knocking him down to the ground by the truck. His wife screamed in terror and fled, but Mr. Doe caught up with her and smashed the cement block into the back of his wife’s head. She was also knocked to the ground. That first blow shattered her skull. Mr. Doe then raised the cement block again and struck his wife in the head again as she lay there on the sidewalk. She sustained massive skull fractures and brain trauma. She died there in a pool of her own blood washing the sidewalk a crimson red. The neighbor also suffered massive head injuries and was slipping into a coma like state. He was moaning for help.

The Korean man who lived in the house between Mrs. Doe’s parents and the police officer heard much commotion. He heard the cries for help. He called 9-1-1 and tried to tell the 9-1-1 operator that there was an emergency in front of his home. Unfortunately, the operator was unable to understand Mr. Kim. His English was very poor and his accent was too thick. So a Korean translator was connected in from telephone operator services. This Korean translator misinterpreted Mr. Kim and informed the 9-1-1 operator that there was an auto burglary or auto theft emergency at Mr. Kim’s driveway.

Police responded to the auto burglary call. But when the first officer arrived, they found two dead people with serious trauma to their heads.

This was an actual case [names were changed] that was tried by the District Attorney’s Office against Mr. Doe for double homicide last year. By using Mrs. Doe’s written accounts of how Mr. Doe had been stalking and terrorizing her helped convince the jury that this was no accident. Mr. Doe had already intended to kill Mrs. Doe prior to that fateful day. Mr. Doe was eventually convicted of two counts of first degree murder and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

New legislation to allow the prior written statements of the deceased victim was prompted by the OJ Simpson-Nicole Brown case. Nicole Brown had kept a written diary of how OJ had beaten her and terrorized her. Those written statements were found at that time to be inadmissible during the OJ trial. In other words, the jury never saw Nicole’s diary. They only got to see the Polaroid of her bruises and beaten face from prior OJ attacks. Our California legislature then enacted Evidence Code section 1370 which allows for such writings that describe threats or infliction of physical injury to be admitted as evidence where the victim is dead or otherwise unavailable. This has greatly helped in the prosecution of domestic violence and homicides.

What about Mr. Kim? Initially I was disappointed that he could not clearly convey the type of emergency to the 9-1-1 operator. Then on further thought, I find Mr. Kim very brave. Brave because even though he could not speak English, he knew that he had to take action and call for help. In our Korean society, we have a tendency to just stay away from trouble. Mr. Kim did not turn his back. Despite the language barrier and I might also add a cultural barrier, he did make that call for help. May we also learn from people like Mr. Kim. Despite our perceived shortcomings in either language or culture, we need to show compassion and answer pleas for help.

Helan B. Park has been a Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney since 1996. also involved with her church at Young Nak English Ministry in Los Angeles.