A Fairfax criminal lawyer often has firsthand knowledge of the sobering statistics surrounding domestic violence and the military. The rate of deaths resulting from domestic violence incidents domestic violence incidents and resulting deaths are often far higher in military populations; and. Aa report from 2008 indicates that more than 150 cases of fatal domestic violence or child abuse in the US involving service members and returning veterans were recorded between the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the 2008 report. A double homicide that first came to light on Monday, June 14th in Fairfax County seems to be a part of fall into that trend.
Retired Army lieutenant colonel Kenston K. Yi, 49, entered the emergency room at DeWitt Army Community Hospital on the Fort Belvoir Army base in Fairfax County shortly after 8 a.m. on June 14th. According to an affidavit by Fairfax homicide Detective Robert Bond, Yi initially told a doctor that he had taken the sleep aid Ambien and that he wanted to cause himself harm. Yi then requested a visit with clergy, and confessed to a minister that he had strangled his wife and daughter in their home in Lorton. Yi did not request a Virginia criminal attorney at that time.
Police investigated Yi's claims, and found the door to his apartment closed but not locked. Inside the apartment, law enforcement officials discovered the bodies of Hyon Yi, 47, and Joy Yi, 15. Autopsies performed on Tuesday indicate that the elder Yi died of blunt force trauma, while the younger Yi was asphyxiated. Police declined to provide specific details regarding the injuries suffered by the Yi women.
Kenston Yi retired from the Army in August after 30 years of active duty. He attended and graduated from West Point, and worked mainly in IT prior to his retirement. In recent years, Yi was part of the staff for the Chief Information Officer of the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, according to Army officials.
The retired Army lieutenant colonel did was not present at his June 15th arraignment, as he remained hospitalized after expressing suicidal thoughts. Yi did not have retain a Virginia criminal lawyer, and Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Teena Grodner assigned a public defender to his case. Because the victims are Yi's wife and daughter, the case is being heard in domestic relations court. Information regarding future court appearances for Yi is not currently available.
This article is presented by The Law Offices of Price Benowitz, LLP, representing clients in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Washington DC Homicide Attorney and Maryland Homicide Lawyer websites.
