Temecula Man Accused of Stabbing Sleeping Women to Face Jury

By City News Service:

Jury selection will get underway Wednesday for the trial of a convicted felon accused of fatally stabbing a Temecula woman and trying to kill one of his neighbors during unprovoked attacks that occurred while the victims were sleeping.

Jonathan Kim, 25, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait. He’s accused in the slaying of 21-year-old Wilysha Gardner in her home and an attack that nearly claimed the life of a second young woman, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe.

SEE ALSO:

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Kim, who is being held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso this week scheduled several panels of prospective jurors to be summoned to the Southwest Justice Center on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for screening as to their qualifications and availability.

Opening statements in the trial are tentatively set for next Monday.

Jane Doe was the first to be attacked on May 1, 2014. Sheriff’s investigators allege Kim forced his way through a window around 3 a.m. to gain entry to her apartment, located in the same complex where he resided at 30660 Milky Way Drive in Temecula.

The woman told detectives that she awoke to find blood streaming out of her neck from a stab wound and saw a man fleeing her apartment. She began screaming, and neighbors called 911. She underwent emergency surgery at an inland trauma center and ultimately made a full recovery.

Evidence presented during a March 2015 preliminary hearing revealed that investigators recovered two kitchen knives with six-inch blades near the victim’s residence that morning. Fingerprints were also lifted from the window that the intruder broke open, pointing to Kim as the alleged culprit, according to testimony.

After the attack on Jane Doe, Kim allegedly walked three miles to Gardner’s house in the 27000 block of Nelle Court, broke into the two-story residence and stabbed her in the throat as she lay sleeping in her bed.

The victim bled to death. Her body was discovered by her housemate a short time later.

Kim allegedly ran from the house, attracting the attention of a neighbor, who tailed the defendant in his car. The neighbor called 911 on his mobile phone and alerted authorities, who swarmed the area and apprehended Kim moments later outside a shopping center.

According to Deputy District Attorney Dan DeLimon, a search warrant was served at the defendant’s apartment, where several knives similar to the ones used in the attacks were seized.

DeLimon said Kim and Gardner were acquainted, but he would not disclose how. The defendant did not know the first victim, according to the prosecutor.

A possible motive for the attacks was not disclosed in court documents.

Kim has a 2012 conviction out of San Bernardino County for assault with a deadly weapon.