Left inset: Nicholas Myklebust (Regis University). Right inset: Seorin Kim holding her infant daughter (Be a Tree Cremation). Background: The Denver apartments where Nicholas Myklebust allegedly killed his wife Seorin Kim last July (KDVR/YouTube).
An English professor at a private college in Colorado murdered his wife in a “sustained, vicious attack,” fracturing the woman’s skull and breaking multiple bones in her face while beating her “severely” prosecutors say — and their infant daughter was found dead, too.
Nicholas Myklebust, 45, is accused of pummeling his wife Seorin Kim, 44, to death in July at their home in the 3200 block of North Syracuse Street. The couple’s 2-month-old daughter was also found dead at the home, though her cause of death is still being determined.
Prosecutors detailed what allegedly happened at a preliminary hearing on March 21, during which a 911 call was played featuring Myklebust, a professor at Regis University in Denver, who claims to have found Kim after what he assumes was a fall of some sort. Myklebust said Kim was holding their daughter in a front carrier and he believes she possibly fell on top of the child and suffocated her.
“Wake up, babe, babe,” Myklebust could be heard saying, according to The Denver Post, while attempting to provide aid to his wife and daughter. “1, 2, 3, 4,” the man allegedly said repeatedly.
Prosecutors noted Friday how Myklebust and Kim’s baby is now the second child to die while in their care, with their firstborn son being found dead with skull fractures when he was 9. Criminality was not suspected and charges were never filed, the Post reports.
“Ms. Kim was severely beaten over a period of time,” prosecutor Anthony Santos said Friday in court, noting how she suffered broken ribs in addition to face and skull injuries.
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“Almost every inch of her body was affected,” Santos said. “This is a beating that was not impulsive, it was not something where this was one hit or even two hits. This was a sustained, vicious attack.”
Prosecutors described Friday how Myklebust allegedly washed the sheets on the couple’s bed after attacking Kim and threw away a white linen glove that was covered in blood. Five more gloves were found in a dryer, prosecutors say, and traces of blood were also found in the dryer, as well as the washing machine.
“Mr. Myklebust cleaned up while Ms. Kim bled out,” Santos said, according to the Post.
Myklebust’s public defender, Sara Wafai, reportedly pushed back on that assessment, saying Myklebust called police immediately after finding his wife. She noted how investigators and first responders did not report smelling bleach or cleaning items in the couple’s home, nor were any found.
“Ms Kim was not laying there for hours while Mr. Myklebust deliberately cleaned up a crime scene,” Wafai said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
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First responders reported seeing Myklebust vomit several times upon their arrival, and he was also caught on camera in distress and hysterical. Prosecutors have accused him of abusing Kim and harming her, with former colleagues of hers saying she often showed up injured to work.
“They mentioned that she would say she was clumsy, she fell, she had trouble walking or standing so she had fallen, there were also statements made that she always seemed to have a medical appointment for something,” Sandoval said Friday. “It was odd the number of times she would go to the doctor. Rarely did she wear clothing that would reveal her arms or legs, she wore overcoats or long sleeves.”
The judge overseeing Myklebust’s case ordered it to be heard as prosecutors were said to have presented enough evidence to support first-degree murder and tampering with evidence charges. He’s due to appear in court for his arraignment on May 8.
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