Untimely Death At NH Men’s Prison Was A Double Murderer: Follow-Up

CONCORD, NH — An autopsy performed on an inmate who died at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men earlier this week determined he died of natural causes, according to the New Hampshire Department of Corrections.

Uno Kim, 64, died on Monday due to hypertensive and coronary heart disease, according to the state’s chief medical examiner. He was found in a housing unit unresponsive just after midnight. Corrections officers called Concord fire and rescue teams to the scene while also performing CPR on Kim. But officials stopped trying to revive him after it was found he had a do not resuscitate order.

According to press reports, Kim, a naturalized citizen from Korea, strangled Gary Joseph, 78, and Theodore Joseph, 76, during a robbery in Manchester in February 2003. They owned Joseph Brothers Market in Manchester but sold it to Kim’s brother in the 1980s. The brothers retained the building, though. Kim worked at the store for an unknown period of time.

Kim was cautious not to leave a lot of evidence behind after he bound and killed the brothers, according to court filings. But investigators found his fingerprint on the ankle of one of the brothers.

After killing the brothers, Kim attempted to flee the country but was arrested about 45 minutes before his flight to South Korea was scheduled to leave JFK Airport in New York.

During an interview with detectives, he denied killing the brothers, saying he visited with them to secure a $20,000 loan since his car wash business, Uno’s Car Wash, was failing and his Mercedes was repossessed due to missed payments. He crushed sleeping pills and put them in an energy drink he planned to give the brothers so he could rob them. After they drank the drinks and fell asleep, he stole $36,000, according to a court filing. Kim then told investigators he drove to Mohegan Sun to gamble and pay off some debts.

At trial, his mistress testified they met in New Jersey just before the flight and he gave her $35,000. He later left his belongings with her and went to the airport. She claimed they had met five years before and hooked up with each other once or twice a week. Kim helped pay her mortgage but also ran up $35,000 to $40,000 on her credit cards, she said.

According to court records, the car wash was sold two years before, and Kim had around $300,000 in his accounts. But seven months later, he depleted his funds and sold his family’s home in Bedford. Kim then depleted those accounts.

A Mohegan Sun employee testified Kim’s gambling losses totaled $124,000 in 2001 and $153,000 in 2002. He had $90,000 in credit card debt at the time of his arrest.

Kim was incarcerated in May 2003 on two counts of first-degree murder. His maximum release date was August 2202, officials said.

After being convicted, Kim attempted to appeal the case but lost.

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