Ji, Choi face March jury trial in 2017 murder case

A jury trial has been scheduled in the murder of Hollister’s Yoon Ji, according to court records.

The trial is scheduled for March 9, 2020 at the San Benito County Courthouse. There is a pre-trial hearing set for Nov. 22 and a trial confirmation on the calendar for Feb. 20 as well, according to records.

The trial is expected to last 15 days, according to the schedule.

Jung Choi and Sang Ji previously had their jury trial scheduled for July 22 at the San Benito County Courthouse, but it was put off when the suspects motioned for respective doctor’s examinations and dismissal motions.

Ji still has a motion to quash related to a search warrant that will be heard Nov. 22, too, according to records.

The victim’s husband Ji and his alleged mistress Choi have been charged with the homicide and remain in custody at the county jail on more than $2 million in bail each.

For the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, which is overseeing the investigation, the case started Dec. 2 of 2017 when one of the two daughters – Serena Ji – contacted authorities from Los Angeles where she lives to report her mother as missing after not hearing from her since Nov. 27. On the day before, the daughter had received “an odd message from her father, Sang Ji, stating her mother went to South Korea unexpectedly,” according to a prior sheriff’s office statement.

Afterward, Serena Ji filed the missing person’s report on her mother. The sheriff’s office issued a search warrant and served it on Dec. 6 of that year.  JI and Choi were arrested and booked in the San Benito County Jail on suspicion of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

On Dec. 20 of 2017, authorities discovered Yoon Ji’s body buried in a ravine in the 2300 block of Salinas Grade Road near San Juan Bautista with the remains stuffed in a suitcase.