Man Sought in Slayings of Three in Koreatown
Police investigating a triple slaying in a Koreatown restaurant have identified the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims as a suspect in the killings.
Detectives are looking for Tai Zhi Cui, 55, once romantically linked with a 45-year-old female employee of the restaurant who was among those killed, police said.
Los Angeles Police Lt. Paul Vernon declined to say what led detectives to suspect Cui, who has not been seen since the approximate time of the slayings.
“It may be that he comes in and tells us that he didn’t do this,” Vernon said. “But we definitely want to talk to him.”
The victims, all fatally shot, were found about 11:15 a.m. Saturday by Hae Chang Cho, the owner of Chinkuya restaurant in the 3400 block of West 8th Street, police said. Cho had gone to the eatery to look for her husband, Jae Woong Cho, 46, who had not returned home after work Friday night.
After finding her husband, who had managed the restaurant, and the other victims, Cho called authorities.
Police declined to identify the woman and other male victim, also in his 40s, until family members could be notified.
Detectives were trying to determine if there was a relationship between the woman and unidentified man, Vernon said.
Police described Cui as 6 feet tall and 190 pounds, with dark hair cut in a flat-top style. Anyone with information is asked to call LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division at (213) 485-2129.
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