BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for strangling his girlfriend, Kelly Kwak, inside the Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment they shared, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Michael Hosein, 36, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was sentenced Aug. 13 by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Abena Darkeh. Hosein pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on July 30 in the death of the 28-year-old woman.
Kwak’s body was discovered after a relative requested a wellness check at the couple’s Gates Avenue apartment. The New York City Medical Examiner determined her cause of death was ligature strangulation, prosecutors said.
- Michael Hosein was sentenced to 19 years to life after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
- Kelly Kwak, 28, was found dead inside the couple’s Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment in March 2023.
- Surveillance video showed Hosein and Kwak entering the apartment together, with no one else seen entering or leaving before police discovered her body.
Wellness Check Led Police to Kelly Kwak’s Body
According to prosecutors, a police officer responded to a request for a wellness check at 218 Gates Avenue at approximately 10 a.m. March 10, 2023.
The officer entered Apartment 1A and found Hosein alone inside with Kwak’s lifeless body.
Investigators subsequently reviewed surveillance video from the area. The footage showed Hosein and Kwak entering the apartment together at approximately 12:45 a.m. March 6, prosecutors said.
The surveillance footage did not show anyone else entering or leaving the apartment between the couple’s arrival and the time police discovered Kwak four days later, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The Office of the New York City Medical Examiner determined Kwak died from ligature strangulation.
Hosein was arrested in Brooklyn on March 15, 2023.
District Attorney Says Sentence Holds Hosein Accountable
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Kwak should have been safe inside the home she shared with Hosein.
“Kelly Kwak should have been able to feel safe and secure in the home she shared with her boyfriend,” Gonzalez said. “Instead, the defendant brutally strangled her to death, ending her life at just 28 years old and devastating everyone who loved her.”
Gonzalez said the sentence holds Hosein accountable while Kwak’s relatives and friends continue dealing with her death.
The case adds to Brooklyn crime cases resulting in lengthy prison terms following murder convictions and guilty pleas.
Hosein’s 19-years-to-life sentence means he will serve a minimum term before becoming eligible for consideration for parole; it does not guarantee release at that point.
Murder Case Ended With Guilty Plea
Hosein pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on July 30, avoiding a trial in the case.
The prosecution was handled by Senior Assistant District Attorney Farin Chasin-Fodeman of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kori Medow, the bureau chief.
The District Attorney’s Office announced Hosein’s sentence Aug. 13.
Who was Kelly Kwak?
Kelly Kwak was a 28-year-old Brooklyn woman who prosecutors said was strangled by her boyfriend, Michael Hosein, inside the Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment they shared.
What sentence did Michael Hosein receive?
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Abena Darkeh sentenced Hosein to 19 years to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
How was Kelly Kwak’s body discovered?
A police officer conducting a wellness check at the Gates Avenue apartment discovered Kwak’s body on March 10, 2023, with Hosein inside the apartment, prosecutors said.
Sources: Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, sentencing announcement; Office of the New York City Medical Examiner findings as cited by prosecutors.
