Judge freed Palm Desert woman months before she allegedly killed her husband with a flag pole

PALM DESERT, Calif (KESQ) - Prosecutors charged Vicky Kim with murder Thursday in the death of her husband at The Enclave condo community, and said a judge released her from custody and canceled protective orders earlier this year over their objections.

Kim, 65, was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, but the hearing has now been continued to Friday. 

The felony complaint identifies the victim only as R. Kaufman. Prosecutors allege Kim used a flag pole as a deadly weapon and personally inflicted great bodily injury. The District Attorney's Office is asking the court to hold her without bail. The complaint notes she faces a potential life sentence.

In an email to reporters, District Attorney's Office spokesperson Molly Smith said Kim had several domestic violence cases in Riverside County involving her husband. In January, prosecutors charged her with a felony, obtained criminal protective orders and intended to "aggressively prosecute" her, Smith said. At the time, Kim also had four pending misdemeanor cases tied to four separate domestic violence incidents and protective order violations.

"Despite our office's clear objections, a judge resolved all of the defendant's cases as misdemeanors, released her from custody, and terminated all protective orders that prosecutors worked hard to obtain," Smith wrote.

The email did not name the judge or say when Kim was released.

Kim also has an arrest outside California. Hawaii police records show she was arrested in July 2007 for a bomb threat at the airport in Kona. Police said she repeatedly claimed there was a bomb on a plane. The flight was emptied and every passenger and bag was screened again. Kim, then 46, was charged with first-degree terroristic threatening, a felony, and released the next day on $1,000 bail. How that case ended is not known.

In Palm Desert, deputies were called to the 35000 block of Gateway Drive at 9:47 a.m. Friday. They found a person with injuries from a physical assault who died at the scene. Kim was there and was arrested without incident, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. Crime scene tape blocked off part of the gated community for much of the day, and the sheriff's office announced the arrest Saturday.

The sheriff's office has not released the victim's full name or age.

Kim remains in custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

Anyone with information is asked to call Central Homicide Unit Investigator Chua at (951) 955-1700 or Palm Desert Sheriff's Station Investigator Mitroff at (760) 836-1600.

Stay with News Channel 3 for coverage from the courtroom Friday