Family sues security guard acquitted of murder at Buckhead senior home

The security guard at a Buckhead senior housing complex who was found not guilty earlier this year in the fatal stabbing of a 90-year-old resident is again being accused in his death, this time in civil court.

Kate O’Hara and Youngbii Park accused Janet Denise Williams of killing their father in his fifth-floor apartment at the Marian Road Highrise, according to a suit filed in Fulton County State Court late last month.

Williams was acquitted of charges related to the murder of Chun Ki Kim, who was found stabbed to death in his residence in September 2024, but Kim’s daughters said in their suit that their civil claims don’t have the same burden of proof that prosecutors faced in the criminal case.

In a criminal case, a jury must find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty, but in civil court, the bar is lower: A jury must decide whether a preponderance of the evidence shows guilt.

The civil suit alleged Williams “intentionally caused Mr. Kim’s death” and also accused the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, the building’s property management company and its security company of playing a role in his death by not keeping him safe in his home.

The women are represented in the case by attorneys Roderick Edmond and Marvin Arrington, who also sits on the Fulton County Commission. The commission does not control Atlanta’s housing authority, which is instead run by the city.

Williams declined to comment on the allegations in the case. Atlanta Housing spokesperson Carolyn Smith said the agency would not comment on pending litigation.

George Jones, a spokesperson for Protect Security, which handled security at the building, declined to comment on specifics of the lawsuit, but said the company takes “the safety and security of the communities we serve very seriously” and extended sympathies to the victim’s family.

Integral Property Management, which is also named in the lawsuit, didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday.

In the lawsuit, the daughters did not include allegations of a possible motive for the killing, and they did not include allegations about DNA evidence, two aspects that were also excluded from Williams’ prosecution earlier this year.

Instead, they described the timeline between the last time Kim was seen alive by his caregiver and when he was found stabbed to death more than 50 times the following day at the Marian Road Highrise.

Kim was found dead in his fifth-floor apartment at the building off Sidney Marcus Boulevard on the morning of Sept. 25, 2024, by his caregiver. O’Hara and Park said in the lawsuit their father was stabbed around 50 to 60 times on his face and upper torso.

“Based on the totality of the surveillance evidence, physical evidence, timing, access, changed appearance, missing property, and investigative record, Plaintiffs allege on information and belief that Williams entered Mr. Kim’s apartment and intentionally stabbed him, causing his death,” according to O’Hara and Park’s lawsuit.

O’Hara and Park said Kim’s caregiver left the building around 2:40 p.m. on Sept. 24, and by 3:15 p.m., footage described in the investigative record showed Williams entering an elevator and going to the fifth floor. In the elevator, O’Hara and Park note in the lawsuit that Williams wore glasses and a mask, carried a red Xfinity bag and appeared to possess a lanyard and access credentials.

About six minutes later, Williams reentered the elevator from the fifth floor “appearing distressed,” and no longer wore her glasses or mask, wiped a torn right pant leg that “appeared wet with a dark reddish stain,” examined the back of her hand, carried a fuller red bag and walked with a “noticeable limp,” according to O’Hara and Park.

Williams then went to the restroom in the building’s lobby and returned to the security desk, the lawsuit describes, until she made two more trips to the fifth floor without the red bag.

On Sept. 25, when Kim was found dead on the kitchen floor, O’Hara and Park state in the lawsuit that investigators established that Kim’s wallet, identification, cards and Atlanta Braves hat were missing. O’Hara and Park allege Williams “watched the investigation closely and asked officers questions,” and on Sept. 26, she followed investigators to the fifth floor while they discussed doorbell-camera evidence.

Some days later, on Oct. 3, officers executed a search warrant at Williams’ home. According to the lawsuit, officers took security uniforms, a pair of shoes and a red Xfinity bag. O’Hara and Park said in the lawsuit that one pair of uniform pants had a tear on the right thigh area that had been sewn, and that investigators observed a “significant” wound on Williams’ right thigh.

“Williams supplied explanations for the repaired pants and the thigh wound that investigators considered material to the homicide investigation,” O’Hara and Park said.

The lawsuit did not cite specific prior incidents or complaints involving Williams or the building, and O’Hara and Park said the relevant records are “primarily or exclusively within those Defendants’ possession.”

The criminal trial lasted four days, and jurors, after just over an hour of deliberations, returned a verdict of not guilty on all charges. Williams had been facing three counts of murder, aggravated assault and exploitation and intimidation of an elderly person.