Man Pleads Guilty to Murdering Dale City Resident for $1 Million Life Insurance Payout

A New York man pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering his elderly brother-in-law in an attempt to collect on a $1 million insurance policy that would have been paid out to his son. 

Jung Min Jun, 59, a Korean citizen and former resident of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., pleaded guilty Tuesday in Prince William County Circuit Court to the 2011 murder of Kwang Sup Hur, of Dale City. He will be sentenced for the crime on Feb. 15. 

"Yes, I'm guilty," Jun told the judge, through an interpreter. 

The case shocked the residents of the River Run Senior Apartments in September 2011, when Hur's wife found him dead in their home. Court records show that Ho Young Jun—the son of Jung Min Jun and Jung Ok Jun—had obtained a $1 million life insurance policy on Hur a few years back. The three Juns initially faced a range of charges in relation to the murder. 

Following Jun's admission of guilt Tuesday, Prince William County Police Detective Joseph Medawar testified that a police officer who responded to the incident had first noticed "suspicious marks" on Hur's neck.

A medical examiner's report cited "asphyxia due to strangulation" as the cause of death, with injuries caused by blunt force trauma to the head, thorax, neck and extremities. 

Medawar said that the medical examiner was prepared to testify that the cause of death was consistent with ligature, and bruises with the victim trying to remove it. 

Cell phone records also showed that Jun was in Virginia at the time of the murder, though he had previously said he was not. DNA found under Hur's fingernails were also matched to buccal swabs from Jun. 

As part of the investigation, Medawar traveled to the New York area to try to find Jun. Medawar said that when he arrived at Newark airport, Jun "was getting ready to board a plane to Beijing, China."

Jung Min Jun's wife,  in October to a misdemeanor charge; prosecutors said she was not involved in the murder. Ho Young Jun's trial, originally scheduled for this month, has been pushed to April 2013. The insurance company, New York Life, has filed a petition to have the assets from the life insurance policy placed in the custody of the court.