CO - Seorin Kim, 44, and 2.5 month-old daughter found dead, professor husband Nicholas Myklebust arrested on suspicion of murder, Denver, 29 July 2024

[bombardier]

According to the Denver Post, the baby who died last week was named Lesley Kim, and she was 2 1/2 months old.
The previous baby who died was a boy named "Bear Myklebust, was just nine days old when he died on Oct. 4, 2021, after suffering skull fractures, according to prosecutors and the medical examiner’s office."

Regis University professor charged with murder in wife’s death; no charges filed in baby’s death

Nicholas Myklebust, 44, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Seorin Kim, 44.

www.denverpost.com

Are these their official government-designated names? Interesting that first baby had fathers last name but recent baby had mothers last name....

 

[Shamrock1]

Are these their official government-designated names? Interesting that first baby had fathers last name but recent baby had mothers last name....

When the parents have different last names, there are alternatives to hyphenating the child’s name. One option is to alternate the last name for each child: first born gets one last name, second gets the other. Another option is to pair boys with the father’s name and girls with the mother’s (or even vice versa). I don’t know if any of this applies here, but I’ve seen all kinds of alternative naming conventions in academia. JMO.

 

[azure]

According to the Denver Post, the baby who died last week was named Lesley Kim, and she was 2 1/2 months old.
The previous baby who died was a boy named "Bear Myklebust, was just nine days old when he died on Oct. 4, 2021, after suffering skull fractures, according to prosecutors and the medical examiner’s office."

Regis University professor charged with murder in wife’s death; no charges filed in baby’s death

Nicholas Myklebust, 44, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Seorin Kim, 44.

www.denverpost.com

Odd that apparently boys get dad's last name and girls get mom's.

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

Are these their official government-designated names? Interesting that first baby had fathers last name but recent baby had mothers last name....

That could be a gender thing. IIRC, some East Asian countries have a gender-determined last name.
ETA: Just saw you had said the same kind of thing, @azure

 

[vls12345]

Do you think LE might re-investigate the death of the son in 2021?

 

[Panniniclaus]

Would think they should.

 

[Lore Listener]

Do you think LE might re-investigate the death of the son in 2021?

Well, the Denver Post article I posted said police would not comment on that case "citing the ongoing case." I don't know what the scope of the "ongoing case" is and whether it includes Bear or just Seorin an Lesley, but I'm hopeful! The DP has a rather draconian paywall so I'll post the full quote below with bbm.

"Lesley is the second infant to die while in Myklebust’s care, prosecutors have said. The couple’s first child, Bear Myklebust, was just nine days old when he died on Oct. 4, 2021, after suffering skull fractures, according to prosecutors and the medical examiner’s office.

Bear was taken to Children’s Hospital Colorado at 6:29 a.m. by ambulance from the 2800 block of Roslyn Street, according to the medical examiner’s office.


The office performed an autopsy at that time and ruled Bear’s cause and manner of death to be undetermined, the office said in a news release Friday.

Denver police also investigated Bear’s death, but no charges were filed. Police this week declined to provide any details of the 2021 investigation, citing the ongoing case."

 

[ar3593]

I wonder what the red on his neck is? There sure is a lot of it.
View attachment 521571

Denver police arrest Regis professor on suspicion of murder in wife's brutal beating

Denver police arrested Nicholas Myklebust, a Regis University English professor, on suspicion of murdering his wife. Myklebust called 911 to report that he had found his wife on the ground with blood coming from her head, and that his baby daughter was not breathing. Police found the adult...

denvergazette.com

What a psycho ! He looks strung out, probably meth.

MOO

 

[ar3593]

his mugshot is giving Samuel Haskell vibes.

Speaking of which, what is going on with his case? I haven't seen anything.

 

[tlcya]

Speaking of which, what is going on with his case? I haven't seen anything.

his next court appearance isn't until October 15 I don't think so not much to report since hearing a few weeks ago.

 

[Eli9]

his next court appearance isn't until October 15 I don't think so not much to report since hearing a few weeks ago.

Unless they bring charges on the death of the daughter, you're right probably won't be much in the news.

 

[Lore Listener]

Unless they bring charges on the death of the daughter, you're right probably won't be much in the news.

I agree with you & @tlcya... probably nothing until the next court appearance, unless there are charges on either/both of the babies, or someone close to the case talks to the media (the judge declined to issue a gag order.)

I've been hearing about it a lot because I teach at a different Denver university and some of my students (who are all graduate level) got their bachelor's degrees at Regis and knew/knew of/were taught by NM. There's a huge amount of gossip that I can't share here. My husband went there, too, for a master's degree in tech so therefore didn't interact with NM at all, but I can say the whole Regis community and our whole neighborhood (we live about 2 miles west of where this happened) is horrified and fascinated by this tragedy.

 

[Lore Listener]

Whoa. And GOOD. And, of course NM's attorney hates it. But any evidence must be preserved.

Judge orders baby’s body held in unusual ruling in Regis University professor murder case

District Court Judge Ericka Englert on Friday ordered that Lesley’s body be held at the Office of the Denver Medical Examiner for 30 days even though pathologists there have finished their work.

www.denverpost.com

"A Denver District Court judge in an unusual move Friday ordered the body of the baby found dead in a Regis University professor’s home last month be held for 30 days instead of being released to the child’s family for cremation."

"District Court Judge Ericka Englert on Friday ordered that Lesley’s body be held at the Office of the Denver Medical Examiner for 30 days even though pathologists there have finished their work.

“In this case, it is an unusual situation in that there is no manner of death, no cause of death provided,” she said. “We don’t yet have the autopsy report. The defense does not have the results of testing. And a release of the body right now would likely lead to, for lack of a better term, destruction of the evidence.”"

"Pathologists conducted a full autopsy on Lesley’s body, but expect the final autopsy report will not be finished for three to five months because of various testing that is underway, said Breena Meng, an attorney with the Denver City Attorney’s Office. She represented the medical examiner’s office in Friday’s hearing."

So much more in the article.

 

[Lore Listener]

Lots of new stuff about Seorin, too.

Judge orders baby’s body held in unusual ruling in Regis University professor murder case

District Court Judge Ericka Englert on Friday ordered that Lesley’s body be held at the Office of the Denver Medical Examiner for 30 days even though pathologists there have finished their work.

www.denverpost.com

"People who attended court in support of Seorin and Lesley Kim declined to comment after the hearing.

Seorin Kim, who described herself as a “dancer in the rain” on her Facebook page, posted videos on YouTube of herself singing and playing keyboard. She posted about writing and composing songs, including one song in 2011 about a pet rabbit named Mushroom Myklebust.

“This is a sweet and simple piano tune I composed and dedicated to this furry genius,” the video caption reads."

 

[katydid23]

According to the Denver Post, the baby who died last week was named Lesley Kim, and she was 2 1/2 months old.
The previous baby who died was a boy named "Bear Myklebust, was just nine days old when he died on Oct. 4, 2021, after suffering skull fractures, according to prosecutors and the medical examiner’s office."

Regis University professor charged with murder in wife’s death; no charges filed in baby’s death

Nicholas Myklebust, 44, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Seorin Kim, 44.

www.denverpost.com

I wonder what Seorin thought about her baby son's death? She went on to have another baby with her husband. I wonder if she had any doubts?

 

[ch_13]

Whoa. And GOOD. And, of course NM's attorney hates it. But any evidence must be preserved.

rsbm.

I think you misread the article. It's the defense attorney who requested that the baby's body be held, and the prosecution who opposed it.

Myklebust has not been charged with his daughter’s killing, but might be, said his public defender, Rebecca Butler-Dines. Because of that potential, she asked that Lesley’s body be held until all the testing was completed so that the defense team could review the prosecution’s findings and then potentially pursue its own testing, she said in court Friday.
...
Prosecutor Anthony Santos, who called the defense request an “unprecedented situation,” said it was not appropriate for the medical examiner’s office to hold Lesley’s body “indefinitely” while the defense team mulled its options.


Interesting that Myklebust has a public defender. He was an associate professor, so presumably made decent money. I would have thought he would be have sufficient funds to retain private counsel. Makes one wonder if money issues played a part.

 

[Lore Listener]

rsbm.

I think you misread the article. It's the defense attorney who requested that the baby's body be held, and the prosecution who opposed it.

Myklebust has not been charged with his daughter’s killing, but might be, said his public defender, Rebecca Butler-Dines. Because of that potential, she asked that Lesley’s body be held until all the testing was completed so that the defense team could review the prosecution’s findings and then potentially pursue its own testing, she said in court Friday.
...
Prosecutor Anthony Santos, who called the defense request an “unprecedented situation,” said it was not appropriate for the medical examiner’s office to hold Lesley’s body “indefinitely” while the defense team mulled its options.


Interesting that Myklebust has a public defender. He was an associate professor, so presumably made decent money. I would have thought he would be have sufficient funds to retain private counsel. Makes one wonder if money issues played a part.

Thanks, you're very right - it was Rebecca Butler-Dines, the public defender who requested the body be held.
I'll correct my post.

Edit: ugh, the edit button is already gone on that one. But I do stand corrected.

 

[Lore Listener]

Accused of murder, esteemed college professor's defense attorneys ask judge to minimize media coverage​

Accused of murder, esteemed college professor's defense attorneys ask judge to minimize media coverage

Defense attorneys for the college professor accused of killing his wife are trying to minimize media coverage by asking the judge to limit prosecutors and police pre-trial public comment, shutting

denvergazette.com

 

[Lore Listener]

Status conference coming up this Friday at 1:30 pm.

Docket Search | Colorado Judicial Branch

www.coloradojudicial.gov

 

[Lore Listener]

https://www.denverpost.com/2024/10/12/seorin-kim-murder-nicholas-myklebust-regis-university-professor/

Lots of beautiful heartbreaking info about Seorin, her babies, and her family. I wish DP had a "gift article" function so everyone could read it all without a paywall.

"Seorin immigrated to the United States from Korea as a 5-year-old in 1985. She loved music, animals and drawing. She kept rabbits as pets and swore off pork when she learned pigs have some level of intelligence. She patiently taught her mother how to use a cellphone and took on a project of digitizing the family’s old photos, a process she never had the chance to finish."
"Seorin most recently worked as a forensic accountant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Denver, where she was “highly regarded,” during her eight-year tenure, FBI director Christopher Wray wrote in a letter to her parents after her death.

“She demonstrated the fidelity, bravery and integrity that everyone at the Bureau hopes to achieve,” he wrote."
The article also notes that Kim and Myklebust were in a relationship for 25 years, beginning when they were 19 and met in college. Kim's family, who reside out of state in California, say they had never seen a violent side to Myklebust, but also seem to have some intuition that it wasn't impossible, either...

"Seorin’s parents wonder whether Myklebust became jealous after each child’s birth, if he couldn’t handle the lifestyle change from married to married with kids. Myklebust had complained that Bear was “too fussy,” Uhwan Kim said."

And Kim's dad has taken up learning to play her violin in her memory which, now I'm crying.

Of note in the criminal investigation:
"Seorin Kim’s husband of 11 years, Regis University professor Nicholas Myklebust, 45, is charged with first-degree murder in his wife’s death. He has not been charged with killing Lesley, but his attorneys said he could be."