Twin in O.C. Trial Taken to Hospital

The moment Sunny Han walked into the courtroom Tuesday to testify against the identical twin sister accused of planning to have her murdered, it was obvious something was wrong.

Walking unsteadily and with a dazed look, the 23-year-old Han nearly collapsed three times on her way to the witness stand. Each time she was caught by bailiffs on each side of her. Several minutes later, she was rushed to a hospital after telling the judge she had taken sleeping pills because of a fight with her mother and a breakup with her boyfriend.

Later, Deputy Marshal John Gray said Han had told him that “she was angry and wanted to kill herself.”

The sight of ambulances outside the Orange County Courthouse and paramedics carrying Han on a stretcher through the hallways added yet another bizarre twist to a case that has received international attention and is being broadcast live by Court TV.

Han was reported in stable condition last night at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

Her appearance Tuesday was in stark contrast to the previous day when she had testified calmly and clearly, but reluctantly, in the case against her twin, Jeen Han.

Sunny Han had already held up the start of Tuesday’s proceedings by an hour before she arrived. She was to continue her testimony detailing a November 1996 attack on her and a roommate by two men in their Irvine apartment, an attack the prosecution contends was a murder plot planned by Jeen Han and two teenage boys.

For about a minute before court began, the sisters sat only a few feet apart, with no one between them. But when one would look over, the other would look away.

Before the jury came in, Superior Court Judge Eileen C. Moore demanded an explanation for Sunny Han’s tardiness.

In a soft, muffled voice that was difficult to hear, she told Moore of her troubles the night before: “I went to the drugstore and bought three boxes of sleeping pills. Each box contains 20 pills.”

Moore suggested that she be taken to a room in the courthouse “to sleep it off,” but the judge appeared alarmed when she saw Sunny Han lose her balance as bailiffs helped her from the witness stand.

“I didn’t realize she’s as shaky as she is,” Moore said after Han left the courtroom. “She looks as if she’s about to fall down.”

Moments later, Marshal Gray returned to the courtroom, picked up the telephone and said firmly: “I need paramedics. We have a female adult. She took three boxes of sleeping pills.”

It was not clear, however, exactly how many pills Han took or whether they were prescription or over-the-counter.

She is expected to return to the stand later this week.

Jeen Han faces charges that she conspired with Archie Bryant and John Sayarth to kill her twin, who was able to call police in time to avoid harm. Sunny Han has made it clear she thinks her sister was duped, but nonetheless she has been a key prosecution witness.

Monday, she testified that the two were close but admitted they had disagreements, including a 1995 fight in which Sunny Han punched her sister in the face.

Defense attorneys had initially wanted Sunny Han to continue her testimony, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Bruce Moore asked that she receive medical attention and return later. The judge agreed.

Jeen Han’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Roger Alexander, said he wanted Sunny Han to testify Tuesday so the jury could be aware of what had happened to her, an apparent attack on the credibility of a key witness against his client.

Alexander later explained outside court that he “didn’t want to put [Sunny Han] through hell, but I wanted the jury to see what was going on. I don’t want this to be buried. I think the jury should be aware of everything.”

The prosecution contends that Jeen Han had tried several times to get someone to kill her sister. Joni Marion testified Tuesday that she drove Jeen Han and another man around for several hours in an attempt to find Sunny Han’s apartment. She said Jeen Han told them she wanted her sister dead.

“She wanted it done, and if we weren’t going to help her, she was going to find her own way to do it,” Marion testified.

The prosecution is expected to call other witnesses to testify about Jeen Han’s alleged attempts to find someone to help kill her sister.

The defense contends that there was never a conspiracy to kill Sunny Han but that Jeen Han, Archie Bryant and John Sayarth had driven from San Diego to Irvine to retrieve some of Jeen Han’s possessions, which her sister had refused to return.

The defendants, who have pleaded not guilty, face 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Times staff writer Bonnie Hayes contributed to this report.