Case overview
The Itaewon murder took place on April 3, 1997, when 17-year-old Arthur Patterson killed 22-year-old Cho Jung-pil (Korean: 조중필; born 1974), a Hongik University student, by stabbing him at a Burger King in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea. Patterson and his friend Edward Lee were arrested, but they were released by the Supreme Court of South Korea in 1998 due to lack of evidence, and Patterson fled to the United States. [1]
Patterson and his friend Edward Lee were arrested, but they were released by the Supreme Court of South Korea in 1998 due to lack of evidence, and Patterson fled to the United States. Following what was later said to have been a botched investigation on the part of South Korean detectives, Lee was convicted of murder, while Patterson was convicted of possession of a weapon. Lee was later acquitted by the Supreme Court of South Korea due to insufficient evidence against him, and Patterson, who had not received a travel ban, fled to the United States in 1999. [2]
