A Pierce County jury has convicted 54-year-old Youngmi Shin of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of her husband at their Parkland residence, concluding a complex trial that centered heavily on domestic abuse allegations and claims of self-defense.
The verdict was returned Monday morning in Pierce County Superior Court following several days of deliberations. Jurors had evaluated the case through Thursday afternoon and throughout Friday before finalizing their decision regarding the November 2024 death of 62-year-old Jay Choi, a local business owner.
The panel of seven men and five women ultimately acquitted Shin of intentional second-degree murder. However, they found her guilty of felony second-degree murder, concluding that she caused Choi's death while committing or attempting to commit the underlying offense of second-degree assault.
Following the announcement of the verdict by Superior Court Judge Shelly K. Moss, the defense made an immediate bid to challenge the outcome. Defense attorney Teymur Askerov requested that the court directly acquit Shin of all charges once the jury had exited the room, arguing that prosecutors had failed to provide sufficient evidence to refute her claim of lawful self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Judge Moss denied the defense motion, determining that the record contained adequate evidence to support the jury's conclusion that Shin was not acting in self-defense. While acknowledging conflicting testimony concerning the precise sequence of events, Moss noted that a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence existed from which jurors could draw differing and valid inferences.
The emotional impact of the decision was visible in the Tacoma courtroom as Shin lowered her head and broke down in tears. Sheriff's deputies subsequently placed her in handcuffs and escorted her from the room. Judge Moss tentatively scheduled Shin's sentencing hearing for October 16.
The fatal altercation took place on November 27, 2024, the day before Thanksgiving, at the couple's home in Parkland. Following her arrest, Shin remained detained at the Pierce County Jail for nearly two years under a $1 million bail while awaiting trial.
That protracted pretrial custody sparked considerable pushback from advocates for domestic violence survivors and criminal justice reform organizations. Supporters maintained that Shin was unfairly subjected to punitive incarceration for attempting to protect her life against an abusive partner.
Prior to the trial, the defense also raised significant procedural challenges regarding Shin's treatment by law enforcement. Defense attorneys argued in pretrial filings that sheriff's investigators subjected Shin to a two-hour interrogation during which her repeated requests for legal representation were ignored. In response to those arguments, Judge Moss ruled that Shin's statements to detectives would be suppressed from the prosecution's main case-in-chief.
During closing arguments, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sarah Park presented the state's theory that Shin acted out of fury during a heated dispute concerning a divorce. Prosecutors pointed to a 911 emergency call placed by Choi from a workshop situated behind the residence, in which he reported to dispatchers that his wife was striking him.
Park emphasized that Choi's call ended abruptly when Shin struck him with a knife, penetrating three layers of clothing and driving the blade 6.4 inches into his back, severing an artery. The prosecutor highlighted that Choi could be heard uttering a sound of surprise on the recording before the line fell silent, arguing that the location and depth of the wound contradicted a claim of confronting an oncoming assailant.
In contrast, Shin provided extensive testimony describing a prolonged physical confrontation that unfolded inside the main residence. According to Shin, Choi followed her inside after the emergency call, demanding her mobile device and his vehicle keys before launching into a violent physical assault that included punching, kicking, shoving her into a living room wall, and threatening to take her life.
Shin testified that Choi dragged her by her hair into the kitchen area. In that room, Shin said she initially grabbed a knife and offered it to Choi to kill her, then held the blade against her own throat in a suicide threat. She stated that Choi punched her to the floor, causing her to drop that weapon, and as he continued his physical assault, she reached for a second knife to defend herself.
To support the self-defense theory, defense attorney Christopher Black directed jurors to testimony provided by Dr. Karla Fischer, an expert with thirty years of experience studying domestic abuse dynamics. Fischer testified about the psychological and behavioral patterns that develop in abusive relationships, noting that victims often become attuned to specific warning signs signaling that their partner's violence is about to escalate.
The defense argued that Shin had endured years of predictable behavior in which Choi became intoxicated, angry, and increasingly violent. Black maintained that this history fundamentally altered Shin's perception of imminent danger on the night of the incident, sending her into a fight-or-survival state as she attempted to protect herself from what she believed to be life-threatening violence.
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