Security guard acquitted in deadly Buckhead stabbing of 90-year-old man
Janet Williams maintained a poker face for four days as a state prosecutor tried to present evidence against her in a homicide.
A 90-year-old resident of a Buckhead senior housing complex had been killed in September 2024. Williams, who worked security for the building at the time, found herself named as the only suspect.
But on Friday, after jurors returned a verdict of not guilty, Williams yelped loudly. She brought her face toward her hands and cried deeply.
“You are free to leave the building,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Belinda Edwards told Williams.
Williams was accused in October 2024 in the death of Chun-ki Kim. The previous month, the retired shoe repairman’s caregiver found him with 54 stab wounds at the Marian Road Highrise, owned by the Atlanta Housing Authority and located off Sidney Marcus Boulevard.
After just over an hour of deliberation, a jury found Williams not guilty on all charges, which included three counts of murder, aggravated assault, and exploitation and intimidation of an elderly person.
Defense attorney Jenny Lubinsky declined to comment after the verdict. But during the trial, she poked holes in the police investigation and argued Williams’ appearance after the killing allegedly took place didn’t match what one would expect after such violence.
“Whoever committed this offense would have been covered in blood. There would have been bloodstains on their clothing,” Lubinsky told the jury.
The prosecution never offered a motive for Kim’s killing. During closing arguments, Fulton Deputy District Attorney Tom Wight tried to persuade the jury the reason why was simply not important.
Instead, he reminded jurors of video footage showing Williams taking the elevator to Kim’s floor just before investigators believe he was killed. Wight noted Williams was recorded returning to the elevator minutes later, missing her glasses and with torn work pants.
“People kill people for all kinds of reasons. Good reasons. Bad reasons. Stupid reasons. Sometimes no reason at all,” Wight said. “Motive is not something the state has to prove.”
When Kim’s brutal killing happened, it rattled the 240-unit building’s residents, who include senior adults and those with disabilities. Many were familiar with Kim and Williams, who had worked at the property since late 2023.
Atlanta police said security footage showed Kim was last seen getting on the elevator at noon Sept. 24, 2024. About three hours later, Williams entered the south elevator and took it to the fifth floor, where Kim lived. Williams was wearing a dark-colored security guard uniform, face mask, glasses and had a red Xfinity grocery bag, according to the warrant.
Six minutes later, she got back on the elevator without her glasses or face mask, police said. Her pants leg appeared torn and wet with a dark reddish stain, authorities said. She examined the back of her left hand, looked down at her pants and appeared stressed, the warrant stated.
The bag she was carrying also appeared to be fuller as if something had been placed inside during that time, according to the warrant. Williams made two more trips to the fifth floor within a short time later, the warrants also detailed. The next morning, Kim’s caregiver found his body in his unlocked apartment.
DNA evidence presented during the trial was limited. The prosecution focused on the red bag Williams was seen holding. Wight said Friday only Williams knows what was inside.
GBI experts testified the bag was submitted for testing based on “reddish brown stains” and found to be positive for the presence of blood. A DNA analysis identified the presence of two individuals, one of whom was Janet Williams, an expert said. But limited data prevented the GBI from making a determination about the second individual.
Several other evidence items submitted for testing, which included William’s work clothing, came back negative or inconclusive for blood. And the GBI tested a pair of green sweatpants Kim was wearing when killed, revealing DNA from only the victim.
Early in the trial, Lubinsky said there were no fingerprints belonging to her client inside the apartment, and Williams’ DNA was not found at the scene. Kim’s DNA was also not found on any of Williams’ belongings, her defense attorney said.
The only things missing in Kim’s apartment were his wallet and an Atlanta Braves cap.
Lubinsky said Atlanta police missed a “bloody handprint on the fridge” inside Kim’s apartment while working the scene. She also told the jury the detective did not conduct certain interviews, including one with Kim’s caregiver, before arresting Williams.
Kim’s caregiver, Cecelia Nam, discovered his body in his kitchen on the morning of Sept. 24, 2024. According to testimony from earlier in the week, Nam then rushed downstairs. Lobby surveillance video showed her flagging down two security guards, including Williams, who escorted her upstairs and was the first to meet her.
Williams was later seen passing out flyers informing residents of the killing and she watched investigators work, her warrant stated.
Darryl Jackson, who was Williams’ boss while she worked security for the Buckhead building, testified that Williams was training a new officer at the complex on the day of the alleged killing and that it was not out of the ordinary for Williams to make several trips to the fifth floor, other floors or other parts of the building.
After the verdict, Wight told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it would be difficult to bring a case against anyone else.
“We brought the best case that we could based on the investigation that was done and all the facts. And at this point, the jury decided that Janet Williams did not murder Mr. Kim,” he said.
He added: “There’s no way that a case could be brought against somebody else. The reality is, once somebody’s been found not guilty, that’s it.”
— Staff writer David Aaro contributed to this report.
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