Model murder suspect linked to other threats, say prosecutors

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The woman accused of killing an aspiring model in Santa Monica may be linked to threats against others.

Kelly Soo Park has been charged with the murder of 21-year-old Juliana Redding, an aspiring actress and model who was brutally murdered in 2008 in her Santa Monica apartment.

Prosecutors allege that Redding's case was not just a one-time murder for hire. They say Park was a professional, employed by Marina del Rey doctor Munir Uwaydah to be his strong-arm or enforcer for all of his business interests.

During a brief court appearance on Wednesday, the judge pushed the scheduled hearing back one week in order to give Park time to review and sign a waiver if she wants to go forward with her current defense team. The issue is that her attorneys are being paid for by Uwaydah - which presents a potential conflict of interest. Signing the waiver would mean that Park is acknowledging that conflict.

Court documents state that Park used her bare hands to strangle Redding and was paid handsomely to do so by Uwaydah after a business deal gone wrong. Investigators say Park's DNA was found on Redding's skin, clothes and cellphone.

Prosecutors say Park was a professional, hired by Uwaydah to intimidate anyone who crossed him and acted as his debt collector, even earning the nickname, the "female James Bond."

Attorneys contend that Redding was murdered five days after her father pulled out of a business deal with Uwaydah, and they've filed a motion requesting permission to admit that evidence, which they say provides a motive for Redding's murder by showing a pattern of behavior.

However, the defense says they will oppose that motion, calling it irrelevant and untrue.

Park has pleaded not guilty. She is expected to be back in court next Wednesday.

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murder, legal, santa monica, los angeles news, christina salvo

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