7th person charged after South Korean woman’s body found in trunk near Atlanta

A seventh person was arrested Wednesday in connection to the death of a South Korean woman whose body was found decaying in the trunk of a car parked outside a popular spa in suburban Atlanta, authorities said.

Gwinnett County Police Department officers arrested and charged Mihee Lee, 54, with felony murder, false imprisonment, concealing the death of another, tampering with evidence and false statements or writings to the government. She is the mother of three of six suspects accused of murder in the death of 33-year-old Sehee Cho, according to police.

Cho's body was found Sept. 12 after police received a 911 report of a deceased body in the trunk of a silver Jaguar parked outside a Korean bathhouse and spa in Duluth, Georgia. Her body was wrapped in a blanket and she weighed about 70 pounds when authorities discovered her.

Investigators believe Cho moved to the United States from South Korea in July to join a self-proclaimed religious organization. Gwinnett County police said the suspects identified themselves as members of "Soldiers of Christ."

The six other suspects were identified as Eric Hyun, 26; Gawon Lee, 26; Joonho Lee, 26; Joonhyun Lee, 22; Hyunji Lee, 25; and a 15-year-old. All six are facing charges of felony murder, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another in addition to multiple gang-related charges.

Police said Wednesday that Mihee Lee is the mother of Joonhyun Lee, Joonho Lee and and the 15-year-old. Five of the suspects were believed to be U.S. citizens while Gawon Lee holds a visiting visa, Cpl. Juan Madiedo previously said.

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Woman abused, denied food in family's home

Investigators had said the suspects subjected Cho to beatings and denied food until her death. Authorities believe Cho was held against her will for weeks in the basement of the Lee family's home in Lawrenceville, about 10 miles east of where the body was found.

Mihee Lee also restricted Cho's water intake and prevented her from leaving or seeking medical care while she received "religious training," according to an arrest warrant.

At a bond hearing for Joonho Lee on Wednesday, WAGA-TV reported that Gwinnett County Assistant District Attorney Han Chung told the court that Cho had been dead for nearly a month before her body was found. Last month, Madiedo said investigators believe Cho was in the back of the vehicle for "a few days."

Lawyer says Eric Hyun was also a victim: 'Over a hundred wounds'

Hyun was the driver of the vehicle that contained Cho's body and had parked it outside the spa earlier in the day on Sept. 12, according to Madiedo. After parking the vehicle, Madiedo said Hyun called a family member to take him to an Atlanta area hospital where he was treated for unrelated injuries.

When Hyun asked the family member to return to the parked car and retrieve an item, the relative discovered Cho's body in the trunk and called 911, police said.

Hyun was later booked into the Gwinnett County Jail on Sept. 24 after being released from the hospital, police said Wednesday. He is currently in the jail's medical wing.

David Boyle, a lawyer for Hyun, said his client was subjected to the same kind of abuse that Cho experienced. Boyle said in a statement on Wednesday that the Lee family had tortured Hyun and Cho in the same basement.

"He was beaten with a belt in his genitals and face until he was knocked unconscious," Boyle said. "He was stripped naked and shot with an airsoft gun all over his body, causing over a hundred wounds."

He added that Hyun's skin was sanded off his chest to "indoctrinate him into their religious extremism." The Lee family also used Hyun's credit cards to pay for clothes and restaurant meals, according to Boyle.

Boyle alleged Hyun had escaped from the Lee family's home and took Cho's body with him after he was pressured into wiring tens of thousands of dollars to South Korea and borrowing money to buy a house in Suwanee, another Atlanta suburb. The house was allegedly intended to be a church for the group.

"If Eric had not escaped from the Lees' house, he would have also died," Boyle said. "Eric Hyun is innocent of these charges and I am confident that he will be cleared of these charges once that investigation is complete."

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Religious-related abuse

The Gwinnett County case is the latest incident of religious or spiritual abuse. A majority of cases involving spiritual abuse involve faith leaders or other members of a religious community, the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) states.

"Most examples of spiritual abuse refer to a church elder or faith leader inflicting abuse on congregation members, often by creating a toxic culture within the church or group by shaming or controlling members using the power of their position," according to the NDVH.

But cases of spiritual abuse are not limited to a certain religion, denomination or individual, the NDVH adds. "Any person, of any belief system, is capable of perpetrating spiritual abuse, just as anyone can be the victim of it," according to the NDVH.

Most incidents that have drawn national attention and criticism include rampant sexual abuse in institutions such as churches, cults and sectarian movements, according to a study examining patterns of sexual abuse in religious settings by a University of Alberta cult expert and his former graduate student.

The study discussed how some religious institutions and leaders foster people, especially children, into harmful and illegal sexual activity.

"A number of uniquely religious characteristics facilitate this cultivation, which includes: theodicies of legitimation; power, patriarchy, obedience, protection, and reverence towards authority figures; victims' fears about spiritual punishments; and scriptural uses to justify adult-child sex," the study states.

State reports released in the past year revealed thousands of cases of child sex abuse by Catholic priests and clergy members.

In April, the Maryland Attorney General's report found a “staggering pervasiveness” of child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where at least 600 children were victimized between the 1940s and 2002. And a report from the Illinois Attorney General in May found at least 1,997 children across the state were sexually abused by members of the Catholic clergy.

Contributing: Chris Kenning, USA TODAY; Andy Carrigan, Rockford Register Star; The Associated Press