Elderly Assault Victim Dies, Police Ask Help in Finding Killer

The 82-year-old El Cerrito woman who was and sexually assaulted in the Big O Tires parking lot on Jan. 28 died Tuesday from her injuries, police said.

Police today, Wednesday, renewed their public appeal for any information that could help find whoever attacked the woman.

The victim was identified by police as Sun Kwon. Her name had not been released at the time of the attack. She was then 81. She died at a local hospital, police said.

The case is now being treated as a homicide, and Richmond police are asking the public's help in gathering information about the crime and finding the killer. The case is being handled by Richmond police because the tire shop (which has since changed its name to El Cerrito Tires) is located in Richmond, with its front sidewalk in El Cerrito.

"We want to bring the case back to light," said Richmond police Lt. Bisha French. She said police still have no clues or description of whoever committed the crime.

"Hopefully the suspect has talked to somebody," she said. "Maybe they've mentioned it. Any information would help us."

Anyone with information is asked to call police Sgt. Stina Johanson at 510-620-6616 or the 24-hour Anonymous Tip Line at 510-232-TIPS(8477).  

A reward of $10,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction who whoever was responsible for the attack.

Kwon was found severely beaten and sexually assaulted in the tire store parking lot at 10733 San Pablo Ave. around 9:15 a.m. Jan. 28, a Saturday. She was found by a store employee. The shop is across the street from the Marshalls department store and near the intersection with Portola Avenue, about three blocks south of El Cerrito City Hall.

She had been an energetic resident of the nearby Eskaton Hazel Shirley Manor at 11025 San Pablo Ave., a senior-housing complex, and was believed to have gone out for her customary early morning walk sometime between 3:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. that morning, wearing a puffy white sports jacket and purple pants.

The morning she was found was chilly, and she showed signs of hypothermia, police said at the time. She was airlifted by medical helicopter to a local hospital.

She suffered major head trauma and was never able to give police a description of the attacker, Sgt. Johanson said.

"We're looking for anything – any kind of lead," Johanson said today. "We really need something from the public."