Conspiracy Added to Charges Against Twin

A twin accused of trying to kill her sister and assume her identity was ordered held without bail Friday as prosecutors charged her with conspiracy to commit murder in a bizarre case that has drawn international attention.

Jeen Young Han, appearing nervous as she faced the judge and a gantlet of television crews and photographers, did not enter a plea to the increased felony charges, but will return to court Dec. 13 for a continued arraignment.

Han, who commonly uses the name Gina, was initially held on $250,000 bail and charged Nov. 8 with an array of felonies, including criminal conspiracy, burglary and false imprisonment. She has not yet entered pleas to those charges.

The new conspiracy charge comes after continuing investigation and additional interviews of witnesses, Deputy Dist. Atty. Bruce Moore said.

Outside court, Han’s lawyer said the case has been “blown totally out of proportion” by what he described as sensationalistic police and media portrayals of a so-called “evil twin.”

“She’s not an evil person,” Deputy Public Defender Roger Alexander said. “The case is a lot more complex than that.”

Alexander said the 22-year-old El Cajon woman is distraught over the allegations and sick with the flu. He did not know if she had had any recent contact with her twin, Sunny, and he suggested that two teenagers also facing charges in the alleged murder-for-hire plot may be trying to blame his client.

The South Korean press is following the case of the Korean American twins closely.

If convicted, Han faces 26 years to life in prison.

Police say the sisters, co-valedictorians at their San Diego County high school, had not been getting along in recent years.

The tensions peaked Nov. 6 when, police and prosecutors allege, Gina Han told the two teen-age boys she wanted her sister dead, according to court documents.

The three, armed with a gun, bought twine and duct tape before heading to Sunny’s Irvine condominium, police said.

Authorities allege that Gina Han sat in the car while the two teenagers, one posing as a magazine salesman, forced their way into the home and bound Sunny Han’s roommate. Hearing the commotion, Sunny called police from her cellular phone.

Gina Han and one of the teenagers fled when officers arrived, but were later arrested in the San Diego area after they allegedly tried to buy a new car using Sunny’s identification and credit card, police said.

Authorities say Gina Han wanted to assume her sister’s identity so she could escape a checkered past. Her alleged accomplices, 15- and 16-year-old El Cajon residents, were booked at Orange County Juvenile Hall and face similar conspiracy charges.