Purdue News
Purdue News
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Affidavit in murder of two Korean sistersAn affidavit of probable cause was filed in Tippecanoe Superior Court today (Monday, 8/13) in the case of the State of Indiana verses Zhan Yin, the Purdue University graduate student in biology accused of killing another Purdue graduate student and her sister on the West Lafayette campus Aug. 2. Yin, 27, of the People's Republic of China, has been charged with two counts each of murder; murder while committing or attempting to commit burglary or robbery; burglary; robbery; theft; and criminal confinement. The charges stem from the deaths of Purdue doctoral student Yeunkyung Woo, 31, and her sister, Hyo Kyung Woo, 29, who was visiting the West Lafayette campus from Chicago. Both women were South Korean nationals. A copy of the affidavit follows. The "affiant" referred to in the document is Linda Stump, Purdue chief of police. Questions concerning the content of the affidavit and the pending court proceedings should be directed to the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor's Office, (765) 423-9305. SUPERIOR COURT COUNTY OF TIPPECANOE State of Indiana VS. Zhan Yin 118-12 Marshall Dr. West Lafayette, In 47906 DOB: 2-10-74 Affidavit of Probable Cause Comes now Affiant, and being first duly sworn upon oath, deposes and states that Affiant is a law enforcement officer in Tippecanoe County, State of Indiana, and in said capacity has been involved in an investigation regarding the deaths of two Korean women. One has been identified as Yeunkyung Woo, a graduate student at Purdue University, and the other was identified as her sister Hyo Kyung Woo. Both victims were found in Yeunkyung Woo's apartment at about 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 3, 2001. The apartment is located at 151 Arnold Drive, Apt. 9, in the Purdue Village, West Lafayette, Indiana. Det. Costello of Affiant's department was one of the first officers on the scene, and she advised that upon arrival the apartment was found to have a strong odor of gas. The Purdue Fire Department was contacted, as the apartment had to be ventilated prior to any investigation to remove the risk of fire or explosion. After entering the apartment, the kitchen stove was found to have all four burners turned on, although none were lit. Det. Costello further observed both victims to be lying in pools of blood in the apartment, with blankets over their torsos and heads, with blood spatters and smears in numerous locations in the apartment, including the entryway, bedroom, and kitchen/living room area. She also observed that Yeunkyung Woo was laying on her back, and was still wearing a backpack. Off. Cox of Affiant's department was involved in processing the scene and collecting evidence. Cox advised that no wallet or student ID was found for Yeunkyung Woo. In addition, an Acura automobile belonging to Hyo Kyung Woo was found parked outside the residence, but Cox could not find a set of keys for said vehicle in the apartment. Cox further advised that a paring knife that appeared to have blood on it was found in the apartment. Cox also was present during the autopsies of the victims, which were performed by forensic pathologist Dr. John Pless, on Saturday, August 4, 2001. Cox was advised that both victims suffered incise wounds to their throats, and had multiple blunt force trauma wounds to their heads. The preliminary findings of Dr. Pless were that the cause of death was stab wounds of the neck and lung as to Hyo Kyung Woo, and stab wounds of the neck as to Yeunkyung Woo. Their time of death was estimated to be between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, 2001. During the evening of Friday, August 3, 2001, Det. Red Elk of Affiant's department interviewed a graduate student at Purdue named Zhan Yin. Yin admitted knowing Yeunkyung Woo as they were in the same department, and admitted he had been to her residence one time about a month or two earlier. Yin indicated that he last saw Yeunkyung Woo on the morning of August 2, 2001, but denied any knowledge of the two murders. On Monday morning, August 6, 2001, Chris Hoffman of the Oklahoma State University Police Department contacted Affiant's department, and advised that a female named Jun Ke had come to his department that morning, and advised that her husband had killed two female students at Purdue. Affiant and other officers went to Oklahoma State University, where Affiant spoke to Ke later that day. Ke related that she and Yin had skipped an exam on Friday afternoon, August 3, 2001, and driven to Chicago. After they returned to West Lafayette that evening, they had been contacted by the Purdue officers and interviewed. On Sunday, August 5, 2001, Yin had rented a Ford Taurus at Budget, and they left for Oklahoma State University to visit a friend of Yin's. She advised that Yin had admitted killing the women, wanted her forgiveness, and indicated that he did not want to face the victims' parents. She advised that she tried to get him to turn himself in, but he state that he did not want to spend his life in prison. He also stated that he did not know why he did it, but also stated that he did not hate them. Preliminary charges were filed later that day, on August 6, 2001, and an arrest warrant was obtained for Yin. On the evening of August 7, 2001, Yin had attempted to enter Canada at a border crossing near Amherst, New York, but had been denied entry. As he returned into New York, a customs officer obtained his license plate number and found that Yin was wanted on said warrant. Yin was located and taken into custody by the Amherst Police Department that night. On August 8, 2001, Yin waived extradition and arrangements were made to transport him back to Indiana. Affiant and Capt. Dietrich of Affiant's department flew to New York to take custody of Yin. When Affiant and Dietrich were at the airport preparing to bring Yin back to Indiana, Yin repeatedly stated that he wanted to talk to Affiant right away. Yin indicated that he wanted to take responsibility for what he had done. Affiant and Dietrich advised Yin not to talk to them because they had not yet had the opportunity to make sure that Yin was aware of his rights and was voluntarily waiving them. Once airborne and able to speak with Yin, Affiant re-advised Yin of his Miranda rights, and confirmed that he was asking to talk to officers. Yin indicated that he understood his rights and wanted to talk to the officers, and advised that he was ready to take responsibility for what he had done. During this interview, Yin advised that he had been riding his bike on Arnold Drive when a car nearly hit him. He became angry and followed the car, which was driven by a female. He followed her to an apartment, and advised that he removed a hammer that he had in his backpack on the way up to the apartment. Yin advised that the female had shut the door to the apartment, but he found the door to be unlocked and he entered the apartment behind her. Yin stated that he struck her in the head from behind after he entered the apartment, and continued to strike her with the hammer. Yin stated that he took a knife from the kitchen counter and stabbed her throat. Yin advised he then moved her body into the bedroom, covered it, and began to clean up the apartment. While doing so, Yeunkyung Woo entered the apartment. Yin advised that when she turned toward him, he recognized her as a fellow biology student. Yin then began striking her in the head with the hammer. When she asked why he was doing this, Yin stated that he told her that he had no choice. After beating her, Yin advised that he also stabbed her throat, and then covered up her body. Afterwards, Yin stated that he turned on the burners on the gas stove, stating that it was to conceal odor. Affiant told Yin that she believed that he was trying to blow up the building, and Yin did not respond, but just looked away. Det. Dietrich and Det. Costello noted that when asked if he was trying to start a fire, Yin nodded his head affirmatively. Yin further admitted that before he left the apartment, he took Yeunkyung Woo's wallet from her backpack. Yin also advised that he took a set of keys from the first victim, because he liked the Acura symbol on the key chain. Yin also mentioned having considered taking the Acura vehicle, but realized that that was probably a bad idea because it had been driven by the first person he'd killed. Yin indicated that he then returned home and obtained his car. He advised he then drove to the Target store in Lafayette to get new clothes, as he had blood on his clothing, and also went to Wal-Mart to buy a new hammer. Yin advised he then drove to the Wabash River, where he threw the bloody clothes and hammer into the river. Yin stated that he then went to McDonalds to get dinner for he and his wife, and then returned home. Affiant believes the information provided by Off. Hoffman to be reliable and credible as he was acting in his capacity as a police officer with the Oklahoma State University Police Department. Affiant believes the information provided by Zhan Yin to be reliable and credible insofar as they were admissions against his penal interests and were corroborated at least in part by police investigation. Affiant believes Det. Costello, Off. Cox, Capt. Dietrich, Det. Wallace, and Det. Red Elk to be reliable and credible as they were acting in their capacity as law enforcement officers in Tippecanoe County, State of Indiana. Affiant believes the information provided by Dr. Pless to be reliable and credible as he was acting in his professional capacity as a forensic pathologist. Further Affiant saith not. Affiant does swear or affirm, under penalties of perjury as specified under Indiana Code 35-44-2-1, that the foregoing representations are true to the best of affiant's knowledge and belief. Executed on 8-13-2001 Linda J. Stump
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