Man Pleads Not Guilty in Wife’s Strangulation : Crime: Couple were discussing relationship while driving on freeway when the husband pulled over, attacked her as their son watched, police say.

An Anaheim man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he strangled his wife as their young son watched from the backseat of their car parked on a Santa Monica Freeway offramp.

Wearing a face mask because he has tuberculosis, Jong Chan Kim entered his plea before a Santa Monica Municipal Court judge, who ordered Kim held without bail.

Kim is charged with the Dec. 23 murder of his 26-year-old wife, Jang M. Kim, whose body was found in the back of the family car that day after Jong Chan Kim telephoned police to report the death, authorities said.

Their 6-year-old son was taken to Orangewood Children’s Home, where he will remain until his expected return to his grandparents in Korea, police said.

Jong Chan Kim’s attorney, Daniel J. Kessler of Anaheim, declined to comment on the case’s specifics. His client will appear in court again for a hearing Jan. 9.

Detectives said Jang Kim was a victim of domestic violence that stemmed from a jealous and controlling husband. Neighbors described the couple as generally placid and reserved. But they also said persistent fighting had erupted in recent weeks at the Kims’ apartment in the 2200 block of Broadway.

Aretha Maiden, a next-door neighbor who often baby-sat for the Kims’ son, recalled constant commotion and screaming almost nightly earlier this month.

“I wasn’t sure whether it was next door or upstairs,” said the 29-year-old woman, whose oldest son went to the same school as the Kims’ child. “I never would have thought in a million years that it was this couple. . . . They always appeared to be into each other.”

Maiden said she has known the Kims since September, when she moved to the apartment complex, where the Kims had been living for more than six months.

Jong Chan Kim told police he came to the United States with his family on a student visa, hoping to improve their lives. But the family’s circumstances grew difficult when the visa expired, police said.

With limited English-speaking skills, he had an undetermined temporary job, but the couple were usually unemployed, Santa Monica Police Sgt. Ray Cooper said. They reportedly relied on money sent from relatives in Korea.

Though the Kims remained private outside their home, Maiden said she heard commotion and what sounded like people wrestling at late hours almost nightly throughout this month.

Maiden said she saw police officers at the Kim residence during a dispute Dec. 18. Anaheim police could not locate a report.

But days after that incident, Maiden said, the commotion stopped.

“I visited their house several days later and saw they had a Christmas tree up,” she said. “I figured everything was OK.”

Santa Monica police said the couple argued again Dec. 23. Kim, who had accused his spouse of infidelity, put her and their son in their Buick Park Avenue and drove to Santa Monica--a favorite fishing spot for Jong Chan Kim--to discuss their problems, Cooper said.

Jong Chan Kim took the Santa Monica Freeway’s 4th Street offramp and stopped the car when the discussion escalated, Cooper said. Investigators believe he strangled her in the passenger seat while the boy looked on from the back, Cooper said, adding that Kim told detectives he tried but couldn’t find a police station. He then drove 45 miles to Newport Beach, another fishing area he sometimes visited, Cooper said.

At the 7-Eleven at 20th Street and Balboa Boulevard, Jong Chan Kim called the operator and asked for help. Officers arrived and found Jang Kim in the back of the car with the child. Jong Chan Kim was arrested without incident.

Times staff writer Ken Ellingwood contributed to this report.