Shooter of Pregnant Seattle Restaurant Owner Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

Cordell Goosby sprinted toward a white Tesla stopped at a red light at Fourth Avenue and Lenora Street in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood on June 13, 2023, raised a gun, and opened fire through the driver's-side window, killing 34-year-old restaurant owner Eina Kwon, who was eight months pregnant, and her unborn daughter, and wounding her husband, Sung Kwon, in the arm. Nearly three years later, Goosby has been found not guilty by reason of insanity and is expected to be committed to Western State Hospital for a period up to life.

The resolution came after psychiatric experts hired by both the defense and the prosecution reached the same conclusion: Goosby was insane at the time of the shooting. That agreement led King County prosecutors to accept a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea rather than take the case to a jury trial. Had the prosecution's expert concluded otherwise, prosecutors said they would have pursued a jury trial.

Gabrielle Charlton, who chairs the felony competency and forensic mental health unit in the King County prosecuting attorney's office, said the case carries weight on multiple fronts. "These cases are tragic all around," Charlton said. "Obviously, they involve a horrific incident and they also involve someone who was severely mentally ill at the time of that incident."

Charlton drew a legal distinction that shaped the proceedings: competency refers to a defendant's current mental state, specifically whether they can understand the charges and assist in their own defense, while an insanity determination looks back to the moment the crime was committed. She also noted that a defendant must be competent to enter a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea, because doing so means giving up the right to a jury trial. By entering the plea, Goosby admits he committed the acts.

King County Superior Court will retain supervisory authority over Goosby's commitment. Officials noted that defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity in serious felony cases, including homicides, have in other cases remained confined in state hospitals for decades.

Eina Kwon and Sung Kwon had been on their way to work at Aburiya Bento House, their Japanese restaurant next to Pike Place Market, when the shooting occurred at approximately 11:15 a.m. Charging documents stated there was no interaction between Goosby and the victims' vehicle before he opened fire. After responding officers located him, Goosby allegedly raised his hands and said, "I did it! I did it!" He later told investigators he had seen a firearm inside the Tesla and fired in response.

Prosecutors did not file a homicide charge for the couple's unborn daughter. Charlton said a 2012 Washington Court of Appeals ruling limits such charges to victims who are "born alive." Prosecutors also could not pursue a manslaughter charge because there was no evidence Goosby knew Kwon was pregnant, an element the state would have been required to prove. Eina Kwon was rushed into emergency surgery and underwent an emergency delivery; neither she nor her baby girl survived. Sung Kwon, then 37, survived after being struck in the arm. The couple also had a 2-year-old son.

Flowers and signs have lined the front of Aburiya Bento House as a memorial since Kwon's death. Goosby, who was 30 at the time of the shooting and 33 at the time of his plea, had no prior cases referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, according to authorities.