A 42-year-old man in Nevada has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and holding a woman against her will for days while he tortured, beat, and sexually assaulted her inside his home.
Edward Y. Kim was taken into custody earlier this month and charged with a spate of felonies, including first-degree kidnapping involving sex, first-degree arson, and sexual assault with a deadly weapon, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The investigation into Kim began when firefighters with the Clark County Fire Department contacted the Las Vegas Metro Police Department on Nov. 16 after they found a woman “covered in wounds,” Las Vegas NBC affiliate KSNV reported. Emergency medical personnel immediately took the woman to the University Medical Center’s trauma unit for treatment.
Edward Y. Kim (LVMPD)
Though she was severely injured, the victim reportedly told the medical staff she had been Kim’s prisoner for several days.
While being treated, the victim told her physician that she had been assaulted for two days by Kim, who she said “restrained her with zip ties and hit her with bolt cutters” and would “set her hair on fire with a torch lighter,” according to a copy of the arrest report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She also claimed that during the beatings, Kim “would untie her and force [the victim]” to have sexual intercourse, which he recorded on his cellphone without her consent.
Doctors reportedly determined the victim had suffered fractures to both of her kneecaps and both of her forearms, had fractures to her right leg and a finger on her left hand. Doctors and nurses also noted the victim’s hair was burned, she had at least seven puncture injuries on her legs and had severe bruising to her upper torso, KSNV reported.
Based on the information provided by the victim, officers returned to the area where she was initially found. Then, they went to Kim’s apartment complex and attempted to contact him. By the time officers were at his home, Kim had already left the residence, but police reportedly observed what appeared to be blood in several areas on his porch.
After a brief search, authorities found Kim in a nearby parking lot where he was attempting to hide behind parked cars, the Review-Journal reported. He reportedly then insisted that the officers come inside his apartment. When asked about the victim and her injuries, Kim allegedly conceded that she had been at his home but said he did not know what happened to her or how she had been injured.
When police asked Kim how he reacted when the victim tried to leave his home, he reportedly “started to ramble” without answering the question.
Kim eventually conceded that he and the victim had been “messing around,” then claimed he was “not really a criminal” and “rambled about something happening to his children” before refusing to answer additional questions, The Review-Journal reported.
Police said they recovered bolt cutters, zip ties, and security footage from the apartment.
Kim is being held in the Clark County Detention Center without bond, jail records show. He is scheduled to appear in court for his preliminary hearing on Dec. 5.
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