Judge freezes bank accounts of 3 people tied to suspect in model’s killing

A judge has frozen the bank accounts of three people connected to a woman accused of murdering an aspiring model in 2008, an attorney said Tuesday.

The disclosure came during a hearing in which Kelly Soo Park, 44, pleaded not guilty to killing 21-year-old Juliana Redding.

According to court documents filed last month, prosecutors allege that weeks before Redding’s death, Park had received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a physician who was in a failed business deal with the victim’s father.

Through his attorney, the Marina del Rey physician, Munir Uwaydah, has denied any involvement in Redding’s death.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Park’s attorney acknowledged that bank accounts connected to the defendant — her mother, Uwaydah and a second man who was arrested with Park but released — were all frozen at the request of the district attorney’s office.

“I don’t know why they froze them,” said Park’s attorney, Kay Rackauckas. “It’s all a big secret.”

Prosecutors declined to discuss details of the frozen accounts.

Redding’s body was found in 2008 in her upscale Santa Monica condo. The Arizona native had moved to the area to pursue work as a model and actress.

The alleged five-figure payments from Uwaydah to Park prompted a request by prosecutors to increase her bail from $1 million to $5 million. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz delayed ruling on that request Tuesday until later this month to allow Park’s attorney more time to prepare.

Multiple attempts by The Times to reach the victim’s father, Greg Redding, about his business dealings with Uwaydah have been unsuccessful.

Uwaydah’s attorney, Henry Fenton, declined to comment Tuesday regarding the frozen bank accounts.

Members of Park’s family, who attended the proceedings, also declined to comment.

robert.faturechi@latimes.com