A 65-year-old California woman has been accused of fatally attacking her husband with a flagpole inside a Palm Desert home, while newly surfaced details point to a troubling history of alleged domestic violence.
Authorities allege that Vicky Kim “inflicted great bodily harm” on her husband during the incident last week at a condominium complex in the affluent community near Palm Springs, according to court documents obtained by SFGATE.
The alleged attack took place Sept. 4 at The Enclave, a condominium community marketed as a luxury residence with amenities including fitness centers, putting greens, and resort-style pools and spas.
Deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office were first called to the 35000 block of Gateway Drive at about 9:45 a.m. for a report of “unknown trouble,” the agency said.
When deputies arrived, they found a victim with traumatic injuries that appeared consistent with a physical assault.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kim, 65, was arrested there and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of murder, according to the sheriff’s office.
The fatal incident was allegedly not the first sign of trouble between Kim and her husband.
Molly Smith, a spokesperson for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, told SFGATE that Kim had already faced multiple domestic violence cases involving her husband.
“In January of this year, our office charged Ms. Kim with a felony, obtained criminal protective orders, and intended to aggressively prosecute her for her crimes against her husband,” Smith told the outlet.
Kim’s background also includes a notable prior case in Hawaii.
Police records from 2007 show she was previously charged with first-degree terroristic threatening after allegedly making a bomb threat at Keahole International Airport on the Big Island.
She was scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.
