VERO BEACH — The Vero Beach Police Department has officially identified the victim of the 18th Street murder from last Tuesday as 77-year-old Chung Sil Kim.
Authorities have tried to notify Kim’s next of kin for the last week but were not successful, according to Vero Beach Police Captain Keith Touchberry.
Murder suspect and roommate 30-year-old Kyle Fredrickson and neighbors in the apartment complex had identified the victim as Kim, but authorities had to exhaust their efforts in tracking down next of kin before making the identification official.
Neighbors described Kim as quiet and friendly, a man who would wave and smile as he passed by.
“He’s a very sweet person,” neighbor Sharon Cook had said of Kim last Tuesday as police investigated the homicide.
According to the Vero Beach Police Department, Fredrickson stabbed Kim in the head following a drug and alcohol binge in the hours leading up to the murder. Fredrickson told investigators that he blacked out and when he came to, he was covered with Kim’s blood.
Fredrickson fled the apartment in Kim’s vehicle and drove north on Interstate 95 and stopped at a rest area and used the pay phone to call 911 to report what happened.
Authorities in Brevard County detained Fredrickson for Vero Beach police investigators.
Fredrickson is currently being held in the Indian River County Jail without bond and is facing a first degree murder charge.
