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Update: Cops look for ex-husband after mall murder

It appears Burnaby’s third murder of 2016 was domestic related. On Thursday the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team released the identity of the woman killed at a business on North Road as 59-year-old Hee Sook Youn.

It appears Burnaby’s third murder of 2016 was domestic related.

On Thursday the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team released the identity of the woman killed at a business on North Road as 59-year-old Hee Sook Youn. IHIT also indicated the suspect in the killing was her ex-husband, Youngku Youn. 

In a press release, IHIT said Youngku Youn’s whereabouts were unknown and anyone who sees him is asked to call 911 immediately. Police also released a photo of the suspect. As of the NOW’s press deadline, his whereabouts were still unknown. 

Youngku Youn, a 60-year-old Maple Ridge resident, is described as five feet, seven inches tall, weighing 143 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. 

Investigators are working with the Burnaby RCMP to gather evidence and locate the suspect as “quickly and efficiently” as possible, according to the homicide team. 

IHIT has also released more details about the case.

Emergency crews were called to a business on the upper level of the North Road Centre around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

When crews arrived, they found a woman, later identified as Hee Sook Youn, in the washroom of the business. IHIT noted while the investigation is in the early stages and an autopsy will be required to confirm the cause of death, evidence suggested she was the victim of a targeted homicide.

Exactly what happened is unclear, but by Wednesday afternoon, there was yellow police tape around the front of Cho Won Food, a health food store.

The NOW spoke to the nephew of the victim.

Troy Lee said he received a call from the Hee Sook Youn`s daughter just after noon saying only that his aunt was hurt.

He rushed to the scene but said he wasn’t given any information by officers there.

Lee explained his aunt, who is in her 60s and is originally from South Korea, ran the store for more than 10 years and was often working by herself.  

He described his aunt as kind.

“A lot of people around the store like her,” Lee said.

According to court records, a man named Youngku Youn was facing several charges for assault and uttering threats from a case in April 2011. Records show he was sentenced to one day in jail and give three years’ probation for the assault.