Employee accused of killing startup boss appears in court

A 28-year-old man accused of killing the CEO of the startup he worked for last week made his first appearance in a San Francisco courtroom Monday.

Kuk Kim, 28, has been charged with murder, robbery, burglary, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and possession of stolen property, according to prosecutors.

Kim is accused of killing Bart Kylstra, 52, the CEO of Rio Mobility, which makes accessories for wheelchairs. Kylstra was found dead on Wednesday inside the company’s office, located in the 1000 block of Market Street, police said.

Kim, who is being represented by the Public Defender’s Office, did not enter a plea today in court.

Police did not initially say how Kylstra died, but according to court documents, the city’s medical examiner’s office found preliminary evidence that Kylstra had been shocked at least twice with a Taser stun gun and that he had injuries consistent with being strangled.

Kylstra had recently discovered that Kim, hired earlier this year as a financial officer, was embezzling money from the company, court documents allege.

On the day of the alleged killing, another employee allegedly confronted Kim about the embezzlement and then brought Kim to the company’s office so that Kim could speak with Kylstra.

That employee, however, left the office and when they tried to call Kylstra several times later that evening, the calls went unanswered. When the employee showed up at the office to further check on Kylstra, the employee was unable to enter the office.

The employee then called Kim to no avail. Kim, however, eventually returned the call later that night and gave the employee a code to enter the office.

The employee, troubled by the earlier events, called police and had them escort him to the company’s office. Once inside, the employee and the officers found Kylstra lying on the ground dead.

Officers then began investigating Kim. The next day, officers arrested Kim after spotting him outside his home as he was about to place to large plastic bags into his car’s trunk.

Inside the bags, officers found a Taser and a piece of cloth and paper towels with what appear to be blood stains on them. Officers also found Kylstra’s wallet, cellphone and laptop inside the bag.

Kim is being held without bail and is set to return to court on Wednesday.

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