3 Plead Not Guilty in Deadly Exorcism Ritual
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The missionary husband of a South Korean woman and two other men pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder charges stemming from her death during an exorcism ritual.
Jae Whoa Chung, 49, a missionary to Bangladesh, Sung Soon Choi, a 41-year-old missionary in China, and Jin Hyun Choi, a 46-year-old deacon at a Korean church in Glendale, were arraigned before Municipal Judge Rosemary Shumsky in West Los Angeles.
A small group of friends and relatives sat through the 15-minute proceeding during which Korean interpreters translated the proceeding for the defendants.
An autopsy found that Kyung Jae Chung, 53, died from “multiple blunt force trauma,” a coroner’s official said Monday.
According to authorities, the exorcism began last Wednesday in Koreatown and continued through early Thursday in a rented condominium in Century City.
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