Man Convicted in Catholic Camp Rampage

A man who killed a woman and attacked three others at a religious retreat was convicted of murder today.

John Suchan Chong, 71, was found guilty of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder with sentence enhancements for using a gun. He faces 60 years to life in prison.

A sentencing hearing was set for March 18. Meanwhile, Chong will be held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center in French Valley.

Chong shot down Chuneyi “Scholastica” Yun, 58, and her husband, Jonpil “Benedict” Yun, on April 7, 2009, in their cabin at the Kkottongnae Center, a Christian camp ran by nuns on Highway 79. The husband was shot in the chest and survived. The wife died with a gunshot wound to the head.

After shooting the Yuns, Chong went into the cabin of Joseph and Juliana Kim, 69 and 65, two other residents at the camp. When Chong pulled out his gun, the couple fought back, wrestling the handgun from him and knocking him unconscious with a 5-pound dumbbell.

Chong, who testified last week, said he only wanted to scare the two couples because they were rude to him and treated the nuns badly. He never meant to kill anybody, he said.

The jury ultimately disagreed, but the possibility kept them hung since Wednesday.

“Premeditation was the big issue,” said Ed Schug, a Temecula resident who was one of two jurors who hung the jury. “Why didn’t he just walk in and pop them?” Schug said after the hearing.

After spending the night thinking about the evidence, Schug and the other dissenting juror agreed with the rest. “People left here and slept on it,” Schug said. “That’s how it was changed. It changed on its own.”

The jury decided the murder was premeditated. “We went over this lots of times, the loading of the gun, the practicing shooting,” said Art Jones, a juror from Temecula. “At least for me, I drew the conclusion it was premeditated.”

Chong bought the revolver legally and practiced shooting it in the hills outside the retreat. When he went to the victims’ homes, his gun was loaded and his pockets were full of bullets.

Inconsistencies in Chong’s testimony and confusion caused by translation created more problems, jurors said. “Sometimes he’d say, ‘Yes, I remember saying that.’ Other times, he’d say, ‘No, I don’t remember saying that at all,’” said juror Brian Horne of Lake Elsinore.

Chong and the four victims lived on the retreat, which gives homes and work to “down-and-out” members of the Catholic Korean community, attorneys said.

Chong and Jonpil Yun worked as handymen on the retreat. Chuneyi Yun worked in the kitchen, according to attorneys.

On the night of the shooting, Chong knocked on the Yuns’ door, and Jonpil Yun let him in. He sat on a bench in the couple’s living area, pulled out a revolver and told the couple they had to repent, or he would kill them. Chong shot them while they prayed together in front of him.

After shooting the Yuns, he went to the Kims’ home. Unlike the Yuns, the Kims fought back and knocked out their attacker. During the fight, Chong fired his gun several times but hit nobody.