DISTRICT ATTORNEY BROWN TO SEEK LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE IN DOUBLE HOMICIDE

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that he will seek a sentence of life without parole in the event of the conviction of Peter B. Lee, a 35 year-old Woodside man indicted for Murder in the First Degree in connection with the murders of Kyong Sok Lee, 41 and So Hui Green, 31 inside their vehicle at 75th Street and Broadway in Elmhurst on May 17, 1998.

District Attorney Brown said, "Under the State's first degree murder statute which became law on September 1, 1995, the District Attorney is required to decide within 120 days of the defendant's arraignment on an indictment whether he or she will seek the death penalty in the event of the defendant's conviction of Murder in the First Degree. I have notified the Court and the defendant's counsel in this case that I have decided not to do so.

"I have made this decision after a panel of senior prosecutors in my office, each of whom has had extensive experience in the criminal justice system, conducted a comprehensive and thorough review of all of the facts and circumstances surrounding this case. After considering all of the facts involved, I have concluded that this office should seek a sentence of life without parole in this case."

District Attorney Brown said that the panel included his office's Chief Assistant District Attorney, Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes, Executive Assistant District Attorney for Special Prosecutions, Executive Assistant District Attorney for Legal Affairs, and the Bureau Chief of the District Attorney's Homicide Trials Bureau.

District Attorney Brown said, "While I understand that some citizens might want a detailed explanation of the basis of our decision, the interests of a vigorous and fair prosecution in this and other cases precludes my commenting further on the decision."

Assistant District Attorney Jack Warsawsky of District Attorney Brown's Homicide Trials Bureau, which is under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Daniel A. Saunders, is assigned to prosecute the case. The prosecution is under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Gregory L. Lasak.