Trial begins for security guard accused in 90-year-old man’s Buckhead stabbing

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Nam testified to leaving Kim’s fifth-floor apartment on the afternoon of Sept. 24, 2025. The next morning, she opened his usually locked door and found the retired shoe repairman dead inside the kitchen.

He had been stabbed 54 times.

The caregiver, who had worked with him five days a week for about two months, then rushed downstairs. Surveillance video from the building’s lobby showed her arms were flailing as she flagged down two security guards, including Williams, who escorted her upstairs and was the first to meet her.

Williams was later seen passing out flyers informing residents of the killing and watched investigators “closely, even asking questions of the police,” her warrant stated. Police eventually searched her DeKalb County residence Oct. 3 and took the clothes she was wearing that day into evidence. A week later, she was arrested.

Williams’ attorney, Jenny Lubinsky, said Tuesday there were no fingerprints belonging to her client inside the apartment, and Williams’ DNA was not found at the scene. Kim’s DNA was also not found on any of Williams’ belongings, her defense attorney said. The only things missing in Kim’s apartment were his wallet and an Atlanta Braves cap.

Police have not shared a motive for why Williams might have killed Kim. She was described as a friendly face at the complex, and Lubinsky said Williams was not violent. Court records show she pleaded guilty to theft and battery charges in the 1990s.

Footage showed that Kim was last seen getting on the elevator at noon Sept. 24, Atlanta police said. At 3:15 p.m., Williams got on the south elevator and took it to the fifth floor while wearing a dark-colored security guard uniform, face mask, glasses and a red Xfinity grocery bag, according to the warrant.

Six minutes later, Williams got back on the elevator without her glasses or face mask, police said. Her pants leg appeared torn and wet with a dark reddish stain, authorities said. She examined the back of her left hand, looked down at her pants and appeared stressed, the warrant stated.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Fulton prosecutor Tom Wight declined to present specific evidence Tuesday outside of how Williams was captured on video heading to the fifth floor. He described his opening statements as a teaser to the jury and noted that GBI scientists would later talk about blood found on the grocery bag.

During her opening, Lubinsky conceded the blood belonged to Williams but said there was also blood from an unknown person. She called it a “really bad investigation” by police, without elaborating.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Police said Williams didn’t seek medical attention for a serious wound to her leg, which she told officers she hurt on a garage door. On Nov. 6, 2024, she tried killing herself inside the Fulton jail by jumping off a balcony, the county sheriff’s office confirmed.

After two judges denied Williams’ bond due to her being a flight risk or the possibility she might commit another felony, a third substitute judge granted her bond in June. She was seen navigating the food court and waiting room area inside the courthouse before the trial Tuesday.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

In front of Judge Belinda Edwards, Wight didn’t mention the other times police said Williams was seen heading back to the fifth floor around the time of the killing. He surprisingly referred to the case as a whodunit in front of the jury.

The 240-unit building, which is owned by the Atlanta Housing Authority, had 37 security cameras, but there were none on the floors with apartments that would have shown someone entering or leaving a unit, police said.

Kim, who emigrated from South Korea in the 1980s, had lived in the building for nearly 30 years. The killing prompted many residents to lock their doors at night.

About a half-dozen additional witnesses are expected to be called during the trial, including the building manager, medical examiner, police detectives and GBI investigators, Wight said.