Man Tells Police He Strangled His Wife : Crime: Slaying took place as couple’s son watched in back seat. The suspect later called authorities and was arrested.

A 33-year-old Anaheim man told police he strangled his wife in their car on a freeway offramp in Santa Monica on Saturday as the couple’s 6-year-old son watched from the back seat, officials said Sunday.

When a distraught Jong Chan Kim could not find a nearby police station, he drove his wife’s body 45 miles to a Newport Beach convenience store, where he called 911 about 8:45 p.m., confessed to the killing and threatened suicide, said Newport Beach Sgt. Ron Rodgers.

With the help of an AT & T Korean translator, dispatchers were able to keep Kim--a Korean national who spoke little English--on the line long enough to send a squad car to the convenience store.

Officers arrived at 8:59 p.m. and arrested Kim. Rodgers said they found 26-year-old Jang M. Kim dead in the back seat of the family’s car; the couple’s 6-year-old son was sitting in the front passenger seat. Jang Kim was also a Korean national. It was unclear Sunday how long the family has been in the United States.

“He called saying he had killed his wife and wanted to kill himself,” Rodgers said.

Kim was booked into the Newport Beach City Jail on Saturday night and transferred to the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail by Santa Monica detectives early Sunday. He was being held without bail on suspicion of murder, Santa Monica police said.

According to Santa Monica Police Sgt. Gary Gallinot, Kim told investigators he was having an ongoing dispute with his wife. The couple got in their car Saturday along with their 6-year-old son and drove from their Anaheim home to Santa Monica “to further talk about their problems,” Gallinot said.

Kim took the Santa Monica Freeway’s 4th Street offramp and stopped the car when the argument escalated.

“He stopped and strangled his wife in the passenger seat of the car . . . with their son looking on from the back seat,” Gallinot said.

Gallinot said Kim “tried to find the police station [in Santa Monica] but couldn’t find it.” He drove to Newport Beach and dialed 911.

The child was released to the Orange County Department of Children’s Services, Gallinot said. An official at the Orangewood Children’s Home said that because of confidentiality laws he could not comment on whether the boy was there or how he was doing.