College professor’s husband dies after she zip-ties and gags him, Iowa police say

A college professor in Iowa is accused of murdering her husband after he was zip-tied and gagged, media outlets report.

Gowum Park was charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of her husband, Sung Nam, West Des Moines police say. Park is an assistant professor of economics at Simpson College in Indianola, the school says.

Police went to the home Saturday night to find Park performing CPR on her husband, according to a news release. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Park told investigators she tied her husband’s feet and hands with zip ties and tied him to a chair, WHO reported. Then she put a clothing item in his mouth, taped his mouth, and duct-taped a towel over his eyes, the Des Moines TV station reported.

Though he asked to be let go, Park didn’t free her husband, which led to his death, KCCI reported. Park tried to hide the items she used to confine her husband before first responders arrived, the TV station reported.

Police declined to say why Park had tied up her husband, according to the Des Moines Register.

Thomas Mussig, an economics major at Simpson College, said Park told students that she was single, the Des Moines Register reported. He told the newspaper that Park sent an email to students Sunday that a Tuesday class was canceled and the midterm was postponed a week.

“She was one of the sweetest ladies I’ve ever known,” Mussig told the Des Moines Register. “This is really tough.”

A professor told The Simpsonian, a student newspaper, that he saw police officers looking through her office and remove a computer.

The college released a statement Wednesday afternoon.

“The investigation is ongoing, and police have informed us there is no threat or any link to the campus community,” according to the statement. “The college has suspended Dr. Park and will cooperate with authorities in their investigation.”

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 7:09 PM with the headline "College professor’s husband dies after she zip-ties and gags him, Iowa police say."