A 31-year-old man authorities believe killed his mother and two others before driving her to a relative’s home in Pennsylvania will undergo a competency evaluation before his bail is set, a judge ruled Monday.
Appearing virtually in Towson District Court, Kevin Ahn stood at the center of a taped square from the Baltimore County Detention Center, about one mile away. Two corrections officers stood between him and the door. Otherwise, he was alone, his face barely perceptible on the television monitor.
When asked whether he understood what was happening, Ahn remained silent. When a public defender said he’d refused their services, he stayed quiet. But when Baltimore County District Judge Michael Siri said there “may be a competency issue,” Ahn spoke up. The judge quickly asked him to repeat himself.
“I know my amendments,” Ahn said, “all of them.”
Ahn was brought to Maryland on Friday to face two counts each of first-degree murder and first-degree assault.
He was initially taken into custody March 24 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. According to charging documents, Ahn showed up at his estranged sister’s home earlier that afternoon in his mother’s white Toyota SUV.
According to police, a note left on the dashboard read, “[Sister], Mom is in Car. I’m sorry please give her a funeral. My brain is fried. My Mom lied, she gave me fake money from the N.A. So did my employers. I lost my mind, forgive me. Please call my sister.” It ended with a phone number.
When Baltimore County Police did a wellness check on the mother’s home in Owings Mills, they found the bodies of 83-year-old Sun Tok Lim and 69-year-old In Yong Kim inside. Detectives wrote that “it was immediately apparent” that their bodies “had been staged” to look like a suicide.
Authorities reported that Lim lived with Hyun Ahn, the defendant’s mother; and Kim was Lim’s ex-husband. Relatives told police that while the couple had separated, he’d still help around the house.
Though Kevin Ahn was only charged for Lim and Kim’s deaths, prosecutor Michael Fuller said he “100 percent” believes Kevin Ahn was responsible for his mother’s death, as well.
The prosecutor, who told reporters he was specially assigned to Kevin Ahn’s case, said a third Maryland murder charge may be brought if it is determined the mother’s death took place in the state.
Speaking outside the district court, Fuller said he expects Kevin Ahn to be indicted early next month.
Monday’s hearing was Kevin Ahn’s first in a Maryland courtroom.
The 31-year-old, whose address is not listed in court records, was extradited from Lancaster County last week. The abuse of corpse charge he faced at the time of his arrest — referencing his mother — was dropped so the Baltimore County murder case could proceed.
The investigation into Hyun Ahn’s death is ongoing in Pennsylvania, Fuller said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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