Police Watched as a Husband Frantically Tried to Save Wife's Life — Then They Saw Bloody Knuckles and Scratches

A Colorado man who at first appeared to be a grief-stricken husband trying desperately to save his wife’s life is now charged with first-degree murder.

Nicholas Myklebust, 45, called 911 just before 7 a.m. on July 29, 2024, and said that “he found his wife on the ground bleeding and their infant daughter not breathing,” according to a 2024 news release from the Denver Police Department.

First responders on the scene reported that Myklebust was frantically trying to perform life-saving measures on his wife, 44-year-old Seorin Kim, and that when they took those efforts over, he started to repeatedly vomit into a sink.

Both Kim and the couple’s newborn daughter, who was just two months old at the time, were rushed to a local hospital, say police. Shortly after arriving, both mother and daughter were pronounced deceased.

Kim had been a forensic accountant with the Federal Bureau of Investigation but was on leave at the time of her death.

Myklebust, who at the time was an English professor at Regis University, told police that he believed his wife fell, but investigators quickly grew suspicious of his story.

When speaking with Myklebust later that day, detectives allegedly “noticed bruising and blood on Myklebust’s knuckles along with scratches on his neck,” the DPD alleged in a news release.

At the same time, police said that they also learned that the injuries suffered by the victim were not consistent with falling off a ladder.

Subsequently, Myklebust was arrested.

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PEOPLE also obtained a copy of a civil suit filed by Myklebust’s in-laws in December 2024.

Younghee Kim and Uhwan Kim are suing their son-in-law for wrongful death, and reveal that in addition to their granddaughter Lesley, their daughter and Myklebust had a son, Bear, who died a few years prior, when he was just 9 days old.

An image included in that suit shows Myklebust being escorted away from the scene that morning with his swollen hands wrapped in gauze and tape. His shirt is covered with blood. In his mugshot, scratches are visible on his neck.

The civil suit also alleges that Myklebust attempted to clean blood from the crime scene with Luminol, and that police found bloody gloves in the dryer.

The judge in the case heard pre-trial arguments last week and Myklebust is expected to be formally arraigned in May. His public defender Sara Wafai did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, the cause of death for both his daughter and son are still undetermined.