Attorney tried to claim he was a necrophiliac and not a rapist. GS.
Convicted in Martinez, Ca.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/26/oh-my-god-east-bay-man-sobs-in-court-as-hes-convicted-of-kidnapping-raping-murdering-81-year-old-woman/

East Bay man sobs in court as he’s convicted of kidnapping, raping, murdering 81-year-old woman
‘They got it wrong,’ defendant says during verdict reading

By Annie Sciacca | asciacca@bayareanewsgroup.com and Nate Gartrell | ngartrell@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: September 26, 2019 at 2:43 pm | UPDATED: September 26, 2019 at 4:49 pm

MARTINEZ — A man was convicted Thursday of kidnapping, raping and murdering an 81-year-old woman in an attack that occurred seven years ago.

“Oh, my God. … They got it wrong!” the defendant, Jonathan Jackson, cried out, sobbing and bowing his head as the guilty verdicts were read in Department 5 of the A.F. Bray Courthouse around 2 p.m. Thursday. A few feet away in the courtroom gallery, Jackson’s mother also began to sob.

Jackson’s victim, El Cerrito resident Sun Yi Kwon, was out on a morning walk in January 2012, when she was attacked, dragged into a secluded area, raped and severely beaten. She lingered for six months but eventually died of a bout with pneumonia, which prosecutors argued was a result of the attack.

Jackson, linked to the crime in 2016 through DNA found in semen left at the scene, took the stand during his trial and insisted that he wasn’t Kwon’s attacker. He said he was drunk and high on LSD that night, when he came across Kwon’s partially nude, lifeless body, at which point he was overcome by a random necrophilic urge and masturbated over her.
His attorney did not immediately comment on the verdict, but said in court he plans to file a motion for a new trial.

The verdict means that Jackson is likely to be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. His month long trial became contentious at times, with the prosecutor, Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Aron DeFerrari, openly mocking a defense expert witness who testified that Kwon would have died from throat cancer regardless of the attack.

The jury reached its verdict after barely a full day of deliberations. After the verdict was read, jurors were polled, one by one, on the murder count. Each of the 12 jurors uttered “yes” on the guilty verdict for first-degree murder.

“This day has been a long time coming; justice was finally served in this case thanks to the hard work of the Richmond Police Department, the patience of the victim’s family and the thoughtfulness of the jury who listened to all of the evidence,” DeFerrari said in an email after the verdict. “In the end, the justice system is about shining a light on the truth, today that happened, and that is a good thing.”

Kwon was a spry 81-year-old, who lived alone and went on a daily walk each morning on San Pablo Avenue. It was there, prosecutors argued, that she came into contact with Jackson in the early morning hours of Jan. 28, 2012.

The attack occurred around 5 a.m. The prosecution theory was that Jackson — an Antioch resident at the time — spent the night before drinking at the Richmond home of a cousin who lived nearby, but left the home “in a rage” after ending up on the losing end of a physical confrontation with his cousin. He came across Kwon and took his frustration out on her, raping her and beating her with his fists until he believed she was dead, prosecutor DeFerrari said during the trial.

After the attack, Kwon was confined to a wheelchair and spent months in hospice care, until she died shortly after her 82nd birthday. The attack went unsolved for years, until Jackson was arrested for driving a stolen car in 2016, and police took a DNA sample while booking him into the jail. It was linked to the attack, and Jackson was indicted on murder, rape, kidnapping and sexual penetration charges that year.

The case was nearly thrown out last year, after an appeals court ruled that DeFerrari had improperly excused a grand juror during the indictment hearing, but the state Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the error didn’t warrant a dismissal of the charge

2) A jury has found 37 year old Jonathan Jackson guilty of rape, kidnapping and murder for the 2012 killing of 81 year old Sun Yi Kwon. The senior was out for a walk when she was sexually assaulted and left for dead in a Richmond tire store parking lot.


3) Friday, October 28, 2016
RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) -- Richmond police have arrested a man in Antioch in connection with a horrific crime that occurred in 2012 involving the murder, rape and kidnapping of an elderly woman who later died from her injuries.

Police arrested Jonathan Jackson Oct. 11, 2016 after getting a positive DNA match from the Contra Costa Crime Lab.

The initial incident occurred on Jan. 28, 2012 when Richmond police officers responded to the Big O Tires on San Pablo Ave. for a call regarding a possible assault victim. When officers arrived, they found 82-year-old Sun Kwon of Richmond barely conscious, bloodied and lying next to a pile of discarded tires.

Kwon, a grandmother of six, was sexually assaulted, beaten and suffered major head injuries. Detectives examined the crime scene and collected DNA evidence that was later submitted to the Contra Costa Crime Lab. Kwon eventually died from her injuries on July 31, 2012.

Officers from the El Cerrito Police Department helped Richmond detectives canvass the area in hopes of tracking down a suspect, but the trail went cold.

In September of 2016, a new team of homicide detectives were notified by the crime lab that they had a DNA match on the submitted DNA evidence. The DNA evidence matched that of 34-year-old Jackson of Richmond.

Detectives learned that Jackson was recently arrested for auto theft. As required, all suspects arrested for any felony have to submit DNA samples. Based on new developments of the case, Detective L. Caston obtained an arrest warrant for Jackson.

Jackson was charged with murder, rape, kidnap, kidnap with the intent to rape and several other sexual assault enhancements.