A teenager is among six members of the ‘Soldiers of Christ’ group charged with murder after a woman’s beaten and starved body was found in the boot of a car.
Officers were called to the parking lot of a Korean spa in Duluth, Georgia, on Tuesday evening after discovering a body in the trunk.
According to police, the victim was starved and beaten for three weeks at a residence in Lawrenceville before ultimately dying.
After raiding the property, detectives said they believe the basement of the home is where the crime occurred.
Following the discovery, detectives charged six people with murder: Eric Hyun, 26, Gawom Lee, 26, Joonho Lee, 26, Juoonhyum Lee, 22, Hyunji Lee, 25, and 15-year-old Junyeoug Lee.
Officers were called to the parking lot of a Korean spa in Georgia on Tuesday evening after discovering a body in the trunk
Police said they believe Eric Hyun, pictured here, was the driver of the silver car the victim was in
Following the discovery of the body and a subsequent search, police arrested and charged six individuals, five of whom are pictured above.
Police say the group is part of a religious group known as the Soldiers of Christ.
They also said they believe the victim moved to the United States from South Korea sometime this summer with the intention of joining a religious organization.
The woman’s body weighed just 30 kilos when she was found. Death notifications had yet to be made to her family in South Korea.
In addition to the murder charge, the group has also been accused of false imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another person.
Images shared by police show the basement where they believe the assault took place; a large area is redacted for blood.
Police said they believe Eric Hyun was the driver of the silver car the victim was in.
After leaving it outside the spa, he allegedly called a relative to pick it up.
The relative then took him to an Atlanta-area hospital for unrelated injuries and while at the hospital, Eric asked the relative to retrieve a personal item from the car.
When the family member returned, they discovered the victim’s body in the trunk of the car.
The investigation resulted in a search warrant for a home in Lawrenceville that police say has ties to Hyun.
The group has been accused of false imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another person. In the photo: the basement where police say the crime took place
At a press conference, Cpl. Juan Mdiedo said: “That search warrant yielded substantial evidence to charge the individuals for the crime.
‘During the course of the investigation it is believed that the basement (of that address) is where the crime took place.
“Investigators believe the victim was transferred from South Korea sometime in the summer under the guise of joining a religious organization.
“They called themselves ‘Soldiers of Christ.’
Due to the decomposed state of the body, investigators were initially unable to identify the victim’s gender, police said WSB TV.
The Korean spa near where the body was discovered said in a statement: “Police have confirmed that this incident is in no way related to the sauna.
“We are sorry for the victim and her family.”
All are being held without bond. It was not known if any of them had an attorney who could speak on their behalf. Jail records do not list an attorney’s name and they were not already listed in Gwinnett County’s online court records.
A police spokesman said Friday that investigators believe they have arrested everyone involved and are not investigating Soldiers of Christ further.