Murder case in Denver ends in hung jury

A jury in Denver was unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the case of a man accused of beating his business partner to death.

The Denver Post reported jurors decided the case of Joong Rhee on Friday. He was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hae C. Park, whose body was found near Moab, Utah, in 2010.

Prosecutors said Rhee, who was deeply in debt, beat Park to death after first filing a deed of trust that said Park would surrender title to vacant land near a Moab motel he owned if he didn’t pay Rhee $300,000 he was owed.

Rhee didn’t file the deed, which was dated in 2002, with Grand County, Utah, until two days before Park disappeared March 27, 2010.

Defense lawyers argued that Rhee killed Park in self-defense.