Han Twins Murder Conspiracy - Trial

Trial

After nearly a year in jail awaiting trial, Jeena Han was tried for conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of burglary, possession of a firearm, and two counts of false imprisonment. Deputy Dist. Atty. Bruce Moore of Orange County presented to the court a receipt in his opening statements which he called the “Receipt for Murder”. He contested that the receipt proved the purchases of latex cleaning gloves, pine sol and trash bags. The importance of this receipt is due to evidence that was missing and the police had not taken an inventory of evidence. The receipt became one of the key focal points for the prosecution in their conspiracy to commit murder charge. A statement from a Target employee where the goods were purchased seem to fully support Jeena's version of the story. The receipt does not detail the kind of gloves purchased and the Target employee states that the gloves would have come from a separate department other than where the household cleaning supplies were located thus the gloves would not have been of the latex variety for cleaning. Jeena stated that it was November and being winter wanted mittens for her hands. She stated they were Mickey Mouse mittens to keep her hands warm.

Jeena stated the trash bags were purchased for the purpose of picking up her belongings at Marks house who was a friend at the time. In turn she also intended to get her belongings from Sunny's apartment. Jeena also states that the pine sol cleaner was purchased for her friend Nikki who later that evening used the pine sol on her kitchen floor thus why the police never found the item in her vehicle and used the receipt in the trial. Jeena's lawyer, Roger Alexander, never contested nor defended Jeena on this matter presenting no defense at any point in time.

Several additional twists occurred, with Sunny appearing to capitalize on the news, going on the talk shows including receiving $10,000 for her story on the TV tabloid show, Hard Copy. Sunny said she believed Jeena never meant to kill her, and in court gave testimony also stating that her sister would not have harmed her. On the first day of the trial, Sunny was lucid and well-composed, but on the third day she appeared disheveled and unable to talk or walk competently. Sunny revealed that she argued with her mother the night before on the phone, broke up with her boyfriend, and attempted suicide by overdose with several dozen sleeping pills. The trial went on without Sunny's presence. Jeena's defense argued that she never wanted to kill Sunny but only intended to scare her and get her things back. Throughout the trial Jeena Han was never allowed to testify on her own behalf and cross examination of key points of the case never took place. One of the more notable points was a statement by Archie Bryant in an interview with Investigator Ray stating that he was guilty, yet the full context of his statement was not given. While his guilty statement was accepted by the court the co-conspirator atmosphere directly inferred that Jeena Han was also guilty despite Mr. Bryants statements that she never wanted to harm Sunny.

The court concluded that the presence of the bags, cleaner, and the placement of Sunny and Helen Kim in the bathtub amounted to prior preparation with conspiracy to murder, and in November 1997, Jeena was found guilty. Sunny and their mother both asked the court for leniency, but in May 1998, Jeena received the maximum sentence of 26 years to life in prison. As Bryant had possession of the loaded gun and was brutal to Helen Kim he was sentenced to 16 years. Sayarath was sentenced to eight years. A forensic psychologist testified for the defense that Jeena had a "personality disorder with mixed traits" that predisposed her to extreme mood swings. Three days after the verdict, Jeena attempted suicide with a stash of pain killers she had in her cell.

Despite the outcome of the trial even before the trial ended there were mysteries and confusion pertaining to the events, the trials outcome and the evidence that was presented or in some cases not presented at all. On January 28, 1998 Jeena's lawyer, Roger B. Alexander, filed for a motion for a new trial. Based on the document submitted Mr. Alexander stated that he rested "after presenting a very very meager defense". Mr. Alexander also stated that the reason he had not brought more evidence before the court was due to his belief that the burden of proof had not been met by the prosecution.

Frank Holecek who was a juror in this trial stated "The result would have been different if Ms. Jeena had testified." When Mr. Holecek was questioned why the guilty verdict was given he stated "A clear explanation of why it should be "Not Guilty" could not be given because no clear explanation or evidence had been offered in court." Linda M. Pressnall who was also a juror stated that they were never informed of the cultural influences involved and that the kind of verbal arguments that took place were common in Korean culture and if this had been presented it could have given "reasonable doubt". This lack of proper representation is what Roger Alexander was addressing in his request to the court for a new trial for Jeena Han which was ultimately rejected.

According to Professor John B. Duncan from the University of California the court failed to take into account the cultural influences pertaining to this case. Professor Duncan stated that the Korean word used by Jeena Han was "Chugida", which means "to kill". He stated that the importance is in the frequency and intent by which this word is used within the Korean culture in conversation and relates to how serious or important a point is such as,"If you fail you will die". Professor Duncan spoke with both Jeena and Sunny Han in interviews in an attempt to discover if Jeena did in fact infer that she wished to kill her sister or if it was in the cultural sense of the common Korean use of the word "Chugida". Upon the completion of his interview and his review of the case, his personal beliefs were that Jeena had in fact only wished to scare Sunny in an attempt to get her belongings and things became lost in translation.

An appeal of Jeena's judgment was filed in 2000, but while the court modified it slightly to recognize improprieties with the false imprisonment charge, it rejected nearly all the defense's arguments and let the core verdict stand.

Jeena Han is serving her term in the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla located near Fresno, and has her first opportunity for parole in 2018.

Archie Bryant and John 'Yoshi' Sayarath each served their time and have been released from custody.