1:01 p.m. Monday, October 19, 2009
Man in U.S. illegally pleads guilty to stabbing lover, gets 25-year sentence
By Andria Simmons

A Duluth man who says he is in the U.S. illegally was sentenced to 25 years in prison Monday for stabbing his married lover to death and then fleeing the state.

Yang Hee Kim, 34, was charged with murder, aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a knife during the commission of a felony in the Aug. 21, 2007, death of 28-year-old Youngmi Lemasters. Initially, Kim faced a maximum penalty of life plus 35 years.


Kim pleaded guilty in Gwinnett County Superior Court to reduced charges of voluntary manslaughter and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.

Kim's attorney, Johnnie Moore, called the stabbing a crime of passion between two quarreling lovers. Lemasters was visiting a friend's apartment off North Berkeley Lake Road in Duluth when Kim showed up. The couple argued and Kim stabbed her three times, prosecutors said. Lemasters was bleeding profusely when police arrived, but she remained conscious. With her dying breaths, she identified her attacker as Kim.

Kim will have to serve only a third of his 25-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Corrections. Kim, who is Korean, also may be subject to deportation after his time is served because he has admitted being in the country illegally.

The victim's husband, George Lemasters, was shocked to learn of the circumstances surrounding his wife's death, according to an e-mailed statement that prosecutors read aloud prior to sentencing. The widower said his wife had been eagerly anticipating his retirement from the military, after which time the couple planned to start a family.

"No prison time will ever make up for the loss I've suffered," Lemasters' statement said.

Assistant District Attorney John Warr said Kim got a plea deal because the sole eyewitness to the stabbing had been deported and another key witness moved to Singapore.

Also problematic was Kim's statement to detectives who captured him at an Amtrak station in New Jersey the day after the slaying. It was unclear whether the detectives had informed Kim of his rights. Therefore, the statement he gave would have been inadmissible at trial, Warr said.

Kim shuffled into court with his hands and feet shackled. When given the opportunity to speak, he expressed remorse for the slaying.

" I will live the rest of my life regretting what I've done," Kim said, via a Korean interpreter.


http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/man-in ... news_81960