CANOGA PARK : Man Charged With Murder, Kidnaping

A Kern County man was charged Tuesday with one count each of murder and attempted kidnaping in the death of a Canoga Park woman who was accidentally shot by her husband when he tried to stop the man from abducting his wife.

Joe A. Yohn, 27, of Rosamond was ordered to return to Van Nuys Municipal Court on Aug. 18 for a preliminary hearing on the charges.

Yohn was ordered held without bail. A bail review hearing will be held Tuesday.

According to court records, Yohn and the dead woman, Linda Jane Corum, 52, had recently broken off a romantic relationship, and Corum had moved back into the home of her husband and three children.

Upset over the breakup, Yohn allegedly had harassed the Corums and vandalized their house. On Saturday, Corum had come out of the house to speak to him when Yohn allegedly pulled her into the car and sped off.

Corum’s husband fired a warning shot into the air and then fired another shot at the back of the car. Police said the shot hit the woman in the chest.

Yohn then pushed Corum out of the car and left. He was later arrested at his parents’ Mission Hills home.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert P. Imerman said Yohn is being charged with the murder of Corum under the legal theory that his kidnap attempt caused her death.