Man accused of killing girlfriend in Seattle charged with murder

LAKE CITY, Washington. – Prosecutors have hastily filed charges against the man who is accused of brutally murdering his girlfriend and was later found in a flooded townhouse in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood.

“It's important to hold people accountable when they become violent towards their partner, but also to show them ways out, because domestic violence is a vicious cycle and it's hard to get out of it,” said Casey McNerthney of the King County District Attorney's Office.

Andy Chu was seen on surveillance video walking home with his girlfriend, carrying shopping bags. Another video from the morning after the alleged murder shows him walking home alone and pulling something out from under his shirt. Prosecutors quickly charged him with murder and assault.

He was arrested after allegedly assaulting a nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center in an unrelated incident.

Prosecutors called the incident involving his girlfriend a gruesome murder. Chu reportedly told police he tried to “fix” his girlfriend's jaw by putting a golf ball in her mouth before walking away and never coming back.

Chu's second court date was scheduled for Wednesday, but he failed to appear. According to court documents, Chu was in a “state of crisis” at the time of the alleged crime.

The townhouse where the incident occurred was flooded because water was left “at full pressure,” prompting neighbors to call the landlord. When police arrived, they discovered the body of the woman, identified as 25-year-old Zoey Yun, in a butterfly position with her throat slit. Chu later told police he had “a memory” of choking her, twisting her neck and holding her underwater.

A neighbor called the incident a tragedy, especially considering it occurred shortly before Yun's birthday.

Because of the violence of the crime and the seriousness of the charges, prosecutors asked for bail of five million dollars. Even if he is well connected, his freedom will cost him half a million dollars.

“Whenever someone is charged with murder, there is a concern that they are a flight risk, despite their connections. Proving that to the court is an argument and therefore a factor,” McNerthney said.

Chu admitted to police that he had taken MDMA and smoked marijuana before the alleged murder. The medical examiner confirmed that Yun's cause of death was homicidal asphyxiation.

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