Trial date set for man accused of murdering business partner from Laguna Beach

A Jan. 12 jury trial date was set Monday for a man accused of killing a Laguna Beach resident who was his business partner.

Edward Younghoon Shin, 40, of Irvine is charged in Orange County Superior Court with murdering Christian Ryan Smith, 32, in 2010 at the San Juan Capistrano office of their advertising and marketing firm.

Shin pleaded not guilty in May 2012, according to court records. The charge comes with a possible sentencing enhancement on allegations of murder for financial gain.

In the months before Smith’s death, the pair had argued about money and Shin agreed to buy out Smith for $1 million, authorities said.

According to police, Shin used Smith’s email account to tell Smith’s family and friends he was going on an African vacation.

Smith’s family members in Oregon became worried after all communications from him stopped, and they started investigating his possible disappearance in Congo and Rwanda. In April 2011, the family contacted the Laguna Beach Police Department to open a missing-person case after a private investigator learned Shin had been convicted in Riverside County Superior Court of embezzling money from a previous employer.

Laguna Beach police found no evidence that Smith had left the country and turned over the case to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department homicide unit. Detectives visited Smith’s and Shin’s office and found it had been recently painted and thoroughly cleaned. Forensic investigators searched the office and discovered blood that matched Smith’s DNA, police said.

After 11 days of surveillance, investigators arrested Shin at Los Angeles International Airport on a Canada-bound plane.

According to authorities, Shin confessed to killing Smith “for purposes of financial gain” but didn’t reveal the location of his body. Smith’s remains haven’t been found.

Shin is in custody at Theo Lacy jail in Orange.

DANIEL LANGHORNE is a contributor to Times Community News.