SEATTLE — A man who police say fatally shot a pregnant woman while exhibiting signs of a mental health crisis in Seattle earlier this month pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Cordell Goosby, 30, entered the plea during his arraignment on first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder charges in King County Superior Court, the Seattle Times reported.
Goosby is accused of shooting and killing 34-year-old Eina Kwon, who was eight months pregnant, while she was in a car with her husband in downtown Seattle. Her husband, Sung Kwon, 37, was wounded. The couple’s unborn baby girl, whom they were calling Evelyn, died after an emergency delivery.
Authorities are continuing to review medical records to determine whether Goosby can also be charged in the baby’s death. Under state law, murder charges can be brought only if the victim was “born alive.”
Members of Seattle’s Korean American community packed the courtroom to support Sung Kwon and call for justice.
“We are here to watch how the justice system is conducted in this horrible murder case,” Yon Kim told news media outside the courtroom, speaking on behalf of those assembled. “Mrs. Kwon and Evelyn, may you rest in peace.”
If convicted, Goosby could face up to 57 years in prison, the King County prosecutor’s office said.
Eina and Sung Kwon were stopped at an intersection on their way to work at their downtown Seattle restaurant, Aburiya Bento House, when Goosby ran up to them and started shooting, authorities said. He emptied the 9 mm handgun into the car and took off, throwing the gun down. When officers found him nearby, he put his hands up and said, “I did it, I did it,” police said.
In an interview following his arrest, police reported, Goosby told detectives that he had a history of mental health care and that he was being harassed by strangers who were spreading rumors about his sexuality and saying that he had done something to his caseworker.
Goosby had no criminal history in Washington state, police said. But according to charging papers, he said he was wanted out of Indiana for a 2020 domestic battery case and has felony convictions from Illinois for drug possession and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
The gun had been reported stolen to the Lakewood Police Department, south of Seattle, authorities said.
It was not clear how long Goosby had been living in Washington, but he had a driver’s license from Washington state. Police said his last known address was an apartment building near downtown Seattle.
