National Roundup

Georgia
35 years later, authorities identify woman whose body was found in dumpster
MILLEN, Ga. (AP) — A body found wrapped in plastic inside a Georgia dumpster 35 years ago has been identified as that of a South Korean woman, officials announced Monday.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said they used DNA analysis, paid for by donors, to determine that Chong Un Kim, 26, was the person whose body was discovered in rural Millen in February 1988.

Kim died from asphyxiation, but it’s unclear whether someone killed her or who dumped her body. She was wrapped with plastic and duct tape, naked inside a brown canvas suitcase that had been placed in a trash bin. A man trying to collect aluminum cans from the dumpster found the body. Investigators said Kim had been dead four to seven days when her body was found.

Kim had moved to the United States in 1981, investigators said. She had lived for several years in Hinesville, which adjoins Fort Stewart and is 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Millen.

Investigators were unable to identify Kim for decades, despite the use of fingerprints, dental records and a forensic sketch. DNA found at the time could not be matched. The body became known as “Jane Millen Doe” and “Jenkins County Jane Doe.”

“There were several people that were talked to and thought they might have seen something, but nothing ever really panned out,” Jenkins County Sheriff Robert Oglesby, who inherited the case from previous sheriffs, told WJBF-TV.

GBI recently send DNA evidence to Othram, a Texas company that tries to match DNA to unknown relatives using large genetic databases. Kristen Mittelman, Othram’s chief development officer, said that the company was able to build a DNA profile using genetic material from a blanket found with the body.

Georgia investigators said they notified Kim’s relatives earlier this month that her body had been identified. GBI agents told the television station that Kim’s sister lives in New York.

Project Justice, a donor group that seeks to solve cold cases, paid for Othram’s work.

The GBI is asking anyone who may have known Chong Un Kim, or has any information about the case, to contact the agency at 912-871-1121. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi. georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Illinois
Winnebago County to pay $3.3 million to settle fatal police crash lawsuit
ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — Winnebago County officials will pay $3.3 million to the family of a Rockford woman killed in a police pursuit.

Joy Lambert, 55, was killed when a driver fleeing a sheriff’s deputy at speeds that reached 91 mph slammed into her car in February 2016.

Lambert’s family filed a wrongful death suit against the county later that year, arguing the chase wasn’t necessary because the driver had only been speeding. Months before Lambert’s death Sheriff Gary Caruana loosened restrictions on pursuits, saying the county was dealing with an epidemic of drivers fleeing traffic stops.

The Rockford Register Star reported the settlement agreement on Monday. A spokesperson for the Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office said the settlement doesn’t include any admission of fault and declined to say if the family was offered an apology.

Caruana, the sheriff, has previously offered condolences to Lambert’s family and blamed the fleeing driver for her death.

Georgia
Man charged with murder after girlfriend’s body found in suitcase
THOMASTON, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man has been charged with murder after police said he killed his girlfriend, stuffed her body in a suitcase and stashed it in the closet of the apartment they shared.

Freddrick Durham of Thomaston was being held without bail in the Upson County jail. Durham appeared before a judge on Monday, a Thomaston police investigator said by phone, but Durham does not yet have a lawyer who can speak for him.

Officers and relatives had gone to Margret Dubignon’s apartment Friday in the town about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Atlanta, but didn’t find her, after last speaking to her on Thursday.

She was officially reported missing Saturday morning, with relatives saying Durham and Dubignon’s vehicle were also missing. Officers were called back to the apartment 90 minutes later after relatives found Dubignon’s body in the suitcase. Upson County Coroner Craig Stubbs said Monday that Dubignon’s cause of death will be determined once an autopsy is completed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

License plate cameras tracked Dubignon’s vehicle to Atlanta, where Atlanta police arrested Durham about two hours later. He was taken back to Thomaston, where he was also charged with concealing a death, tampering with evidence and motor vehicle theft. Police said more charges could follow.

New York
Nikola awarded $165 million in arbitration with company founder
Nikola Corp. has been awarded $165 million in an arbitration proceeding with its founder and former executive chairman, according to a regulatory filing.

The electric and hydrogen-powered heavy truck maker said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it sought reimbursement from Trevor Milton for costs and damages related to actions that were part of government and regulatory investigations, including a December 2021 SEC settlement and associated civil penalty.

Milton previously pleaded not guilty to securities and wire fraud. The former executive, who resigned from Nikola in 2020, was found guilty on three of four counts of fraud in October 2022. In August he lost a bid for a new trial, according to several media reports.

Nikola’s stock price plunged in 2020 and investors suffered heavy losses as reports questioned Milton’s claims that the company had already produced zero-emission 18-wheel trucks.

The company paid $125 million in 2021 to settle a civil case against it by the SEC. Nikola didn’t admit any wrongdoing.

Nikola said in the filing that it plans to file with the arbitration panel an application to recover attorneys’ fees related to the matter.

Shares of the Phoenix-based company soared more than 19% in morning trading on Tuesday.