Man to Serve 20 Years in Murder for $1 Million Insurance Payout

A New York man was sentenced on Friday afternoon to serve 20 years for murdering his elderly relative for a $1 million life insurance payout. 

Jung Min Jun, 59, of Fresh Meadows, N.Y. pleaded guilty in November to mudering his brother-in-law, Kwang Sup Hur, of Dale City, in an attempt to collect on a $1 million insurance policy that would have been paid out to his son. 

Jun listened quietly as his translator explained the documents he was about to sign in Prince William County Circuit Court on Friday. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to a 45-year prison term, with 25 years suspended, followed by 10 years probation. 

The case shocked the residents of the River Run Senior Apartments in September 2011, when Hur's wife found him dead in their home. Court records show that Ho Young Jun—the son of Jung Min Jun and Jung Ok Jun—had obtained a $1 million life insurance policy on Hur a few years back. The three Juns initially faced a range of charges in relation to the murder. 

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Prince William County Police Detective Joseph Medawar testified in November that a police officer who responded to the incident had first noticed "suspicious marks" on Hur's neck.

A medical examiner's report cited "asphyxia due to strangulation" as the cause of death, with injuries caused by blunt force trauma to the head, thorax, neck and extremities. 

Medawar said that the medical examiner was prepared to testify that the cause of death was consistent with ligature and bruises with the victim trying to remove it. 

Cell phone records also showed that Jun was in Virginia at the time of the murder, though he had previously said he was not. DNA found under Hur's fingernails were also matched to buccal swabs from Jun. 

As part of the investigation, Medawar traveled to the New York area to try to find Jun. Medawar said that when he arrived at Newark airport, Jun "was getting ready to board a plane to Beijing, China."

Jung Min Jun's wife,  in October to a misdemeanor charge; prosecutors said she was not involved in the murder. Ho Young Jun's trial is currently scheduled for April 2013.