The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an apparent murder-suicide after a husband allegedly killed his estranged wife.
Officials said in a press release that deputies were contacted around 9:45 a.m. on Monday, September 7, about a suspicious incident that took place at a home. A neighbor called for a welfare check on Yoon Jung Shin, who had not been seen for several days. Police noted that a car that belonged to Shin’s estranged husband, Donald Johnson, was parked in the driveway upon the officer’s arrival.
Deputies were unable to make contact when they arrived at the home, so they forced entry into the residence due to concerns over Shin’s well-being.
Officers then found two deceased individuals inside of the home, and the El Paso County Coroner’s Office identified Shin, 53, as the deceased woman. Johnson, 64, was also found at the home and it was determined that he died by suicide.
Detectives from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office are leading the investigation into the murder-suicide with help from the Metro Crime Lab. The case is being investigated as a possible murder-suicide, and the cause and manner of deaths are expected to be released by the El Paso County Coroner at a later date.
No additional information was shared due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
After the deaths were discovered, neighbor Floyd Kerr spoke to KRDO13 about watching law enforcement and emergency vehicles arrive at the scene.
“Coroner, vans parked out in front. So at that point, we figured it was probably pretty serious,” Kerr said.
Kerr also shared that law enforcement had been called to Shin’s house on a previous occasion months before the apparent murder-suicide.
“I say, six months to a year ago, there was just an evening where there was some yelling going on and it’s, you know, across the street and down a few houses,” Kerr recalled. “So you shouldn’t be able to hear yelling quite so loud. We could see the lady that lived there, in tears, talking to one of the cops for about a half an hour. And so we knew it was something bad.”
Shin taught music out of her home, and students continued arriving at the residence for scheduled music lessons on Wednesday, September 9, because they were unaware of her murder, according to the outlet. Neighbors have since had to tape signs to the front door to inform the families that classes were canceled.
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