An associate professor at Denver’s Regis University was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder Monday after police found his wife with fatal injuries and their infant daughter dead at their Central Park home.
Denver police believe Nicholas Myklebust, 44, killed his wife, Seorin Kim, 44, court records show. It was not clear Tuesday how the infant died, but the baby is the second infant to die while in Myklebust’s custody, prosecutors said.
The couple’s first child died in 2021 after suffering skull fractures. No charges were filed in that infant’s death, said Matt Jablow, a spokesman for the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
Myklebust called 911 just before 7 a.m. Monday from his home in the 3200 block of North Syracuse Street and said he’d found his wife on the ground with blood coming from her head and their daughter not breathing, according to the Denver Police Department and an arrest affidavit.
Kimwas taken to the hospital, where she died. The baby girl, whose age was not provided, died at the scene.
Investigators noted Kim had blunt-force injuries to her face and head that were not consistent with a fall. Police found bruising and blood on Myklebust’s knuckles and scratches on his chest and neck, according to the affidavit.
Their daughter did not have any visible injuries. Denver’s Office of the Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death for both victims, police said.
Investigators found a bloody glove in the trash at the home, and gloves were found in a dryer along with the presence of blood, prosecutors said. It appeared the crime scene had been altered and that someone had tried to clean up blood, prosecutors said.
Myklebust told police he woke up from sleeping on the couch and went into the bedroom to check on his wife and daughter when he found Kim face-down and injured and the baby not breathing, according to the affidavit. He told investigators Kim must have fallen from a step ladder in the bedroom.
Myklebust told police the bruising on his knuckles was skin discoloration, investigators wrote. He said that his wife would sometimes scratch his body because he has psoriasis that is frequently itchy. When a detective challenged that claim, Myklebust said he would sometimes scratch his psoriasis in his sleep.
He told officers his relationship with Kim was “great,” though the baby had been more fussy than usual and the couple had been depressed since experiencing the death of their first child in 2021. Both infants were under the age of three months when they died, Jablow said.
Myklebust, an associate professor of English at Regis, does not have previous criminal charges in Colorado other than a speeding conviction, according to court records.
Regis officials released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying they were saddened to learn of Myklebust’s arrest and that the news was “profoundly distressing for our entire community.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this situation, especially the victims’ family, and all members of our community who are grappling with this difficult news,” university officials said. “In moments of such sorrow and confusion, we are reminded of our Jesuit values to offer compassion, and to seek justice with love.”
Myklebust is being held on a $5 million bond at the Downtown Detention Center on suspicion of one count of first-degree murder. He appeared in court Tuesday and is scheduled for another hearing Friday.
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Originally Published: July 30, 2024 at 3:13 p.m.
