Ex-Simpson professor Gowun Park gets 10 years in husband's bizarre strangulation death

A former Simpson College professor will spend up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter and kidnapping in the 2020 death of her husband, who police say was strangled while gagged and tied to a chair.

Gowun Park appeared before Judge Brad McCall on Thursday to enter her plea, the result of a deal reached with Dallas County prosecutors.

Had she been convicted at trial of the original charge of first-degree murder for the death of Sung Woo Nam, she would have faced life in prison. Instead, she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, third-degree kidnapping and domestic abuse by strangulation.

At Thursday's hearing, prosecutors argued the sentences for those crimes should run consecutively, for a total of 25 years. McCall instead granted the request of Park's attorneys, allowing them to run concurrently.

"There is, in this court’s opinion, clear evidence Ms. Park was a victim of domestic violence both at the hands of her father and thereafter at the hands of her husband," McCall said.

Park, who emigrated from South Korea, spent most of the hourslong hearing staring down, occasionally wiping her eyes, and wept and trembled when she read a statement telling the judge that "I will spend the rest of my life feeling the pain of my husband’s death."

Prosecutors, though, said Park was the abuser, and Nam's family told the court they'd watched Park financially exploit, lie to and isolate Nam before his death.

"Honorable Judge McCall, I beg you to please see the heart of a mother who could not protect or save her son as he was unfairly and unjustly murdered," Nam's mother, Bong Nam, wrote in a statement read by her daughter.

Prosecutor recounts bizarre death scene at West Des Moines condo

According to court filings, Park, 45, told officers responding to a 911 call from her West Des Moines condominium on the night of her husband's death that he was abusive and had given her permission to tie him up when he became violent.

On Thursday, Dallas County Attorney Jeannine Ritchie shared additional details, saying Park told detectives Nam, 41, had a history of violence against her and their property, and that earlier on Feb. 15 he had damaged the windshield of their car in an outburst of temper. Park told police she had bound Park to the chair and checked back on him an hour later, finding him not breathing.

Officers later obtained two videos from Park's phone. One, taken days before his death, showed Nam kneeling and giving permission for his hands and feet to be bound at Park's prompting. The other showed Nam bound and tied to the chair, gagged and blindfolded, as Park is heard blaming him for doing something "on purpose." Nam, through the gag, can be heard saying "no, please save me, just this once," and "I can't breathe."

That video, Ritchie said, was deleted moments before Park called 911 and later recovered.

"Officers formed the conclusion that his consent was revoked when he asked (her) to save him," Ritchie said. "Park left him when she knew he was distressed and failed to release him."

Ritchie also noted Nam was not bound when first responders arrive, leaving medical personnel unaware what had happened to him. The bindings were later found in a bag behind a washing machine, which Ritchie said detectives interpreted as a sign of attempted deception by Park.

Plea came after prosecution won appeal to allow interviews

Those interviews, and others conducted by police at the couple's home and at a police station, were key in the case. The district court initially ruled most of Park's statements could not be used against her, finding officers had effectively detained her but had not informed her of her Miranda rights.

They also continued their questioning after Park asked for a lawyer, the judge found, and implied she would be treated with leniency if she spoke with them.

The Iowa Court of Appeals later partially reversed that decision, and in 2023 the Iowa Supreme Court overturned it entirely, ruling that all the interviews had been legally conducted.

Defense attorney Tammy Gentry said Thursday she believes Park could have offered defenses of justification and battered women syndrome at trial, but that she was giving up those claims to take advantage of the plea deal.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Gowun Park, ex-Simpson professor, to serve 10 years for husband's death