Vicky Kim remains jailed as court filings and later sheriff records offer different descriptions of the alleged weapon and timeline.
PALM DESERT, Calif. — A 65-year-old woman charged with murdering her 77-year-old husband remained unarraigned Tuesday after a fourth delay tied to medical clearance, as newer court-related records introduced conflicting details about the weapon and date in the Riverside County homicide case.
Vicky Kyung Mi Kim is now scheduled to appear Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Prosecutors have asked that she be held without bail, while recent court reporting says she is currently being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside in lieu of $10 million. The murder charge and related allegations have not been proven in court.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said deputies from the Palm Desert station responded at 9:47 a.m. Sept. 4 to an “unknown trouble” call in the 35000 block of Gateway Drive. Deputies found a person with injuries consistent with a physical assault, and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators identified Kim as the suspect and arrested her without incident, according to the department’s public statement.
The Sheriff’s Office initially withheld the victim’s identity pending notification of relatives. The murder complaint cited in local reporting identified him as R. Kaufman, while later court reporting based on a sheriff’s bail-setting affidavit identified him as 77-year-old Richard Kaufman of Palm Desert. Kim was his wife, according to prosecutors and court records.
The filed murder complaint has been described by KESQ and other outlets as alleging that Kim used a flagpole as a deadly weapon and personally inflicted great bodily injury. A later bail-setting affidavit cited by City News Service, however, identified a large metal curtain rod as the likely weapon. The affidavit said investigators found suspected blood on a large circular piece attached to the rod. Authorities have not publicly reconciled the two descriptions.
The records also contain a difference in the reported timeline. The Sheriff’s Office’s public homicide release says deputies were called on Sept. 4. City News Service reported that the bail affidavit described deputies being sent to the Enclave condominium complex shortly before 10 a.m. Sept. 3 after a report of a dead person. Because the public accounts differ, the precise sequence has not been independently resolved.
The bail-setting affidavit also described financial concerns that investigators were examining. According to reporting on the document, a social worker told investigators about several financial fraud referrals to Adult Protective Services. Banks had also reported possible financial elder abuse involving Kaufman’s accounts, the affidavit alleged. Authorities have not publicly established those allegations as a motive for the homicide.
The murder case follows a series of earlier domestic-violence cases involving the couple. KESQ reported that Kim was arrested six times between September 2025 and January 2026 and that prosecutors filed five domestic-violence cases during that period. Those cases included allegations of battery, corporal injury to a spouse, elder abuse and violations of protective orders. The district attorney’s office said Kaufman was the victim in the earlier cases.
In one January case, prosecutors filed a felony corporal-injury charge along with misdemeanor allegations involving elder abuse and violation of a protective order, according to court records reviewed by KESQ. The felony count was changed to a misdemeanor the following day. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office has said prosecutors objected when Kim’s cases were resolved as misdemeanors and protective orders involving Kaufman were later terminated.
Kim has repeatedly been unable to appear for arraignment because she has not been medically cleared, according to court reporting. Hearings were previously set for Sept. 10, Sept. 11 and Sept. 14 before another planned appearance Tuesday was postponed. The nature of the medical issue has not been publicly disclosed. Recent reporting said she had not yet been formally arraigned or appointed a public defender as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Riverside Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit continues to investigate Kaufman’s death. Kim is scheduled to return to court Wednesday, when the arraignment and prosecutors’ request concerning bail could be addressed if she is medically cleared to appear. No plea had been entered as of Tuesday, and the circumstances leading to Kaufman’s death remain under investigation.
Author note: Last updated September 15, 2026.