South Korea court jails American for 20 years for Burger King murder

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

South Korea court jails American for 20 years for Burger King murder
Reuters
1 hour ago

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean court jailed an American for 20 years on Friday for the murder of a South Korean student at a Burger King restaurant in 1997, after he was extradited from the United States following the acquittal of another American.

The murder of Cho Joong-pil, 22, in the Itaewon nightlife district, which is popular with expatriates in the South Korean capital, fueled discontent towards U.S. military bases in the country.

South Korean officials said Arthur John Patterson, whose father was a civilian contractor to the U.S. military, fled to the United States after Cho was found dead on the floor of the restaurant bathroom with stab wounds to his neck and body.

Patterson, 36, was extradited to South Korea last year. He told the court he had been living in Los Angeles.



Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/south-korea-court-jails-american-20-years-burger-082317455.html

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Cho Joong-pil, deceased. [/center]

[angstlessk]

1. What a cute kid Cho Joong-pil was

I read the attached but did not see the motive for his murder. Did they rob the place, or just cause they could?

[Nyan]

2. It was just murder for some reason.

The motives are not clear to this day. And yeah, one of the reasons is more often than not, they can get away with it because the rules are different when it comes to US soldiers (I don't know much about the detail though).

[angstlessk]

3. It is horrid..like you say whatever the motive

Why one walked is not right...if he was there and did not stop the murder he should be considered an accomplice!

[Nyan]

4. The justice was long overdue.

Looks like it's about to be delivered, which is good.

[valerief]

5. I don't get it. The son of a war contractor being arrested? Defense contractors

run the world. The father must not like his son.

[Sunlei]

6. "after acquittal of another American". That person had to sit in their jail for 16 years?

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. About 2 years - he was present at the murder, but each accused the other

of holding the knife.

The other two in the restroom were Arthur Patterson, the 17-year-old son of a U.S. military service member, and his 18-year-old Korean American friend Edward Lee.
...
The knife the murderer used belonged to Patterson. The blood on Patterson’s clothing matched that of the victim. The knife had the victim’s DNA on it. Their friends also testified against Patterson.

Oddly enough, the prosecution initially accepted Patterson’s claim and charged Lee with murder. Patterson was indicted only for possession of an illegal weapon and destroying evidence.

Lee was convicted of murder at a lower court but was acquitted on appeal in September, 1999. The top court said that the evidence was insufficient and Patterson’s testimony was not credible.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2011/10/164_96958.html

[Sunlei]

8. Our Military's reputation takes a big hit for the bad behavior of their contractors kids.