Family close, friends say

The father was a medical professional, the mother was a math teacher, the daughter is a graduate student and, up until Wednesday, the son was a high school senior who sang in the choir and was described by teachers as intelligent.

The Kim family was nothing less than ideal, friends said.

But below the surface, the 18-year-old son, Bryan, had been diagnosed as bipolar and had become increasingly violent toward his parents.

Spokane sheriff’s detectives continue to unravel the double homicide discovered Wednesday at the family’s home in the 18500 block of East Eagle Ridge Lane where Teresa and Richard Kim were found dead.

As Bryan Kim sat in Spokane District Court on Thursday facing two counts of second-degree murder, his parents’ bodies were being autopsied. The father died of multiple stab wounds, the Sheriff’s Office said, and the mother had been strangled.

Their bodies were found in the bucket of a small tractor with its tracks leading from the home’s front doors. Both were bloody, and the mother’s head was wrapped in plastic. Inside the home, pools of blood remained in the foyer next to a bucket and a sponge.

Bryan Kim is being held in the Spokane County Jail on $1 million bail.

“His parents were probably the nicest people I’ve ever met,” said Jared Munson, who stayed with the Kims earlier this year while in Spokane for a high school leadership camp. “They seemed like a pretty cool family, like one you’d see on television.

“I don’t think anyone expected this to happen to them,” the Auburn High School student said. “They were just so warm and welcome.”

Bryan Kim reportedly had just been told by his parents that he would have to move out of the family’s home by January, authorities said Thursday.

The parents’ decision, along with an argument over Internet usage, may have led to the attack sometime Tuesday night or early Wednesday, according to court documents.

After being arrested Wednesday, the Mount Spokane High School student reportedly told investigators, “Go on with what you’re gonna do. Book me. I’m gonna cry myself to sleep later. Let’s get this going.”

In addition to taking medication for bipolar disorder, documents suggest Bryan Kim also suffers from depression. Spokane County sheriff’s investigators said Kim told a girlfriend Wednesday that he and his parents had argued over his use of the Internet the night before and that they left the house for a walk and never came back.

The boy’s sister also told detectives that their parents had just told him he would have to move out of the house by the first of the year, court records show.

Richard Kim was a respiratory specialist at Apria Health Services for the past five years. Teresa Kim was a math teacher at Rogers High School for three years. When she failed to show for work Wednesday, sheriff’s deputies were asked to make a welfare check at the house.

Detectives told Spokane County District Court Judge Richard White that Bryan Kim has prior arrests for assault, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment dating back to August 2002. His parents were listed as the victims in each of the cases.

In September 2002, the teenager locked himself in the family’s bathroom for four hours after arguing with his mom, according to court documents. When Spokane County sheriff’s deputies finally busted down the door, Kim swung at them with a broomstick.

In November 2002, Bryan Kim tried to hit his dad with a golf club, according to court documents. The golf club bounced off the wall and hit his mother in the head. Teresa Kim told investigators she was afraid of her son’s anger.

But Bryan Kim’s personality at Mount Spokane High School was described much differently than in the court records.

“He’s very intelligent,” Mount Spokane High School Assistant Principal Brenda Goehring said. “He was always very polite and a nice kid. No disciplinary problems that I’m aware of.”

She said students and staff were surprised and sad over what happened.

“When people talk about kids being at risk, I think they are all at risk at some time or another,” Goehring said. “It’s hard to tell what’s going on in any of their minds. Most of the signs are so subtle, telling the difference between teenage angst and danger signs. We try to pay attention to all of it.

“We all have a lot of questions,” Goehring said. “And the biggest one, of course, is why.”

Friends and colleagues of the Kims were in disbelief over the deaths, describing the couple as selfless and caring.

“Both Richard and Terri were great, everybody here knew them. You couldn’t ask for better people,” said Kahl Buhl, the branch manager of Apria Healthcare. He was at the Kims’ home, checking on why Richard Kim hadn’t showed for work, when deputies discovered the bodies.

Buhl described Richard Kim as a person who would “help anybody with anything.”

“If somebody had trouble with their car, he could help them. If you needed a tool, Richard had it,” Buhl said.

Buhl said Richard Kim once drove 20 miles late at night to help him with a plumbing problem.

“This senseless loss will be felt by many people for a very long time,” Buhl said.

He was not aware of any problems the family was having with their son, outside of what “every person that has ever had a teenager in their home” has had. He called the teen “wicked smart.”

At Rogers High School, Principal Carole Meyer issued a statement calling Teresa Kim an “essential part of the Rogers community” and a passionate teacher.

She spent a lot of time outside of the school day attending activities and supporting Rogers students, Meyer said. The night before Kim’s body was discovered, she had been attending teacher training.

Freshman student Kyle Biem said “Mrs. Kim” was his favorite, often staying long after the school day ended to help him catch up when he was behind.

“She helped me a lot,” said Biem, 14. “She was so nice. I’m really disappointed.”