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Court docs: Simpson professor charged with murder claims husband was violent, abusive

First responders were called to the 8300 block of EP True Parkway on Feb. 15 to find Sung Nam lying face down on the floor.
Credit: WOI

A Simpson College professor accused of tying up her husband and killing him says the two had an agreement to confine him if he became violent, according to search warrants documents filed in the case this week.

Gowun Park, 41, was listed as an economics professor at the school and has been charged with Kidnapping in the First Degree and Murder in the First Degree in the death of her husband, Sung Nam.

First responders were called near to the 8300 block of EP True Parkway around 6:46 p.m. on Feb. 15. When they arrived, they found Nam lying face down on the floor in the office of their home.

According to a criminal complaint, Park admitted to police that she bound Nam’s hands and feet by zip ties, and then bound him with a rope to a chair. 

New details in search warrant documents state Park informed police that her husband was tied up and had to cut him free with scissors. She also told police she had fallen asleep in the family room watching a movie and woke up about an hour later.

A small laceration was observed by police on Parks right hand, and according to the documents, pieces of blue nylon rope were found in the home "in various lengths."

"...Gowen Park admitted to tying him up ... as they had made an agreement when he becomes violent," a search warrant in the case reads. "Gowun Park told [West Des Moines Police Department] Detective Morgan and I, that she had made a video recording of Nam telling her to tie him up earlier this week, which she states is on her phone."

RELATED: Simpson professor charged with murder in the death of her husband

"During the interview with Park, she asked when she could have her computer and electronics back because she needed to get back to teaching," the documents continue. "These statements seemed odd ... as she seemed concerned with work, rather than the death of her husband."

According to another search warrant, Park "used her hands to cover her face and refused to move them" when police tried to gain access to her cell phone.

In another section of the search warrants, Park claimed to have "information that would show that Nam was physically abusive and had threatened to harm himself in the past."

A Friday bond review hearing has been scheduled in Dallas County, with Park's attorney writing that the alleged incidents "arise out of a dysfunctional intimate relationship."

The defense is asking her bond to be reduced from $5 million cash only to $75,000 case or surety.

"The investigation is ongoing, and police have informed us there is no threat or any link to the campus community," Simpson College said in a statement following Park's arrest. "The college is monitoring the situation and will cooperate with authorities in their investigation."

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