Twin-vs.-Twin Case Attracts Intense Interest From Media

In a bizarre case that has already attracted the attention of national TV shows, a twin faces charges that she conspired to kill her sister and assume her identity.

The case involves Jeen and Sunny Han, who were “the evil twin and good twin,” said Irvine Police Lt. Tom Hume.

Jeen Han, 22, faces arraignment Friday in Orange County Municipal Court on an Jeen Han

array of charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, robbery and false imprisonment.

“The good twin has moved out from her place,” Hume said. “[Sunny’s] very concerned for her safety.”

With an alleged murder-for-hire plot mixed with sibling rivalry, it didn’t take long for interest in the case to spread. Irvine police fielded calls all day Monday from TV shows such as “Sally Jessy Raphael,” “Hard Copy” and “American Journal,” and news organizations from as far away as London, as well as local news media.

“I’ve been busy,” Hume said.

Based on interviews with both sisters, it was apparent that they haven’t gotten along in recent years, police said.

Jeen Han, Hume said, was angry at her sister for helping authorities mount a recent theft case against her involving the use of money and stolen credit cards belonging to people in the San Diego area, where she lived. Jeen Han was convicted.

That case played a role in the conspiracy, police said. Jeen Han, known as “Jeena,” planned to kill her sister because she could then take her money and credit cards without worrying about a criminal background or poor credit history, Hume said.

But those plans unraveled Nov. 6 when Jeen Han and two male teenagers from San Diego went to her sister’s Irvine apartment to kill her, Hume said.

After stopping at an Irvine supermarket to buy rope and duct tape to tie the victim, Hume said, the three companions drove to Sunny’s Irvine residence.

One of the youths knocked on the front door and identified himself as a magazine salesman, Hume said. Sunny Han’s roommate shut the door on him.

After getting a gun from the car, the two teens returned, forced their way in and bound and gagged the roommate, Hume said. Meanwhile, Sunny Han reportedly heard the commotion from another room and ran and locked herself in a bathroom because she believed her roommate was being raped. Inside the bathroom, she called police on a cell phone.

When police arrived, Hume said, “Jeena is in the car waiting and she tells arriving officers, ‘Hey, my sister is in there. Something’s wrong,’ ”

Police surrounded the home, entered and arrested one of the youths and freed the roommate, who was otherwise unharmed. But while police checked out the house, they didn’t notice Jeen Han and the other teenager flee the scene, Hume said.

After his arrest, the unidentified juvenile told police about the murder-for-hire plot, Hume said.

“There was going to be an exchange of money and property from Jeena Han to the two teenagers,” Hume said. “I don’t know if they were going to do the actual killing, but they were going to assist, according to the youth interviewed.”

Meanwhile, Jeen Han and the other accomplice fled to San Diego where they attempted to buy a new car, using sister Sunny’s identification and credit cards. But dealership employees became suspicious and asked that they wait a day before the transaction could be completed.

The pair left but were arrested later that day as they returned a rental car near the San Diego Airport, police said.

In Orange County, the arrest of her twin left Sunny Han emotionally shaken, police said.

“You’ve got to remember,” Hume said, “that when we surrounded the house, the victim, Sunny, didn’t know her sister was involved in this. She didn’t have a clue. When she was told by police, she was visibly shaken.”

Jeen Han remained in Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. Her alleged accomplices, 15- and 16-year-old El Cajon residents, were booked at Orange County Juvenile Hall.