Mar. 16, 2023 By Bill Parry
An Auburndale man on March 16 was officially charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of his mother inside their home last month, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Dennis Cho, 20, of 191st Street, was arraigned before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise on a seven-count indictment charging him with murder, two counts of criminal contempt, two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment in the killing of 59-year-old Hyun Sook Lee.
According to the charges, sometime between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, Cho was at home with his mother when he stabbed her multiple times in the back, causing her death. Additionally, the defendant became engaged in an altercation with his father, Seong Woo Cho, 61, which resulted in the father sustaining a laceration to his hand. Cho then began to strangle his father.
Police from the 111th Precinct in Bayside responded to a 911 call regarding the incident and found the mother on her bedroom floor surrounded by blood, with multiple stab wounds to her body, police said. Officers also found her husband at the scene with a laceration to his hand and minor injuries to his head and neck.
EMS arrived and transported Cho to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. The husband refused medical treatment at the scene.
The couple’s son was taken into custody.
“The defendant is charged with the gruesome, cold-blooded stabbing death of his mother, a crime as horrific as can be committed,” Katz said. “This was a brutal attack that no family should have to endure.”
Justice Aloise ordered the defendant to return to court on May 3. If convicted, Cho faces 25 years to life in prison.