Trial to begin for ‘female James Bond’ in model’s killing

Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday in the murder trial of an alleged “female James Bond” accused of killing ex-Maxim model Juliana Redding.

Kelly Soo Park was arrested on suspicion of murder two years after the March 2008 slaying and ordered to stand trial by a grand jury. She pleaded not guilty and was on out bail awaiting trial.

Redding was an aspiring model and actress who had landed some small jobs after moving to Los Angeles from Arizona. Santa Monica police, responding to her mother’s request for a welfare check, discovered Redding’s body in her Centinela Avenue bungalow, according to a grand jury transcript reviewed by The Times.

Park’s DNA was found on Redding’s cellphone, a stove knob and in a drop of blood found on a plate, criminologists testified. Her fingerprints were also lifted from objects inside the apartment, another specialist said.

Prosecutors alleged that Park — an associate of a Marina del Rey physician who once dated Redding — tried to cover up the slaying by leaving the gas stove on and lighting a candle.

Dr. Munir Uwaydah made six-figure payments to Park and her family before the killing and before Park’s arrest, prosecutors said, and bragged that he had a “female James Bond” in Park. Uwaydah has not been charged in the killing.

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kate.mather@latimes.com