Dateline/Facebook K.C. Joy was convicted of killing his roommate, Maribel Ramos, in 2014. He is serving 15 years to life in prison.
Tonight’s episode of Dateline NBC titled “Mystery in Orange County,” tells the story of Maribel Ramos, a 36-year-old Iraq war veteran who was allegedly murdered by her roommate Kwang Chol Joy.
K.C. Joy was sentenced to 15 years to life following the trial for the 2013 murder. Ramos’ body had been found in a shallow grave in Silverado Canyon.
Ramos was a U.S. Army veteran who served two combat tours in Iraq. She was also an active student at California State University-Fullerton. According to ABC 7 and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Joy murdered Ramos on either May 2 or 3, 2013. Joy has since been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Read on to learn more about where K.C. Joy is today.
Prosecutors Argued That Joy Murdered Ramos After Arguing About Rent
According to the prosecution, Joy and Ramos argued about rent on May 2, 2013, and Ramos told Joy he needed to move out of their Fullerton home because he was not paying his rent.
Ramos was last seen alive on surveillance video while dropping off a rent check, and friends reported her missing the next night when she missed events that were previously scheduled.
According to ABC 7, on May 16, 2013, two weeks after the murder, Joy conducted Internet searches at a public library to inquire about human body decay. He also used a satellite map to zoom in on a location near the Santiago Canyon and Jackson Ranch roads. Police investigators found Ramos’ body that day, though her cause of death was never determined due to the state of decomposition on her body.
Joy was arrested on May 17, 2013. He had commented on a Yelp thread about Ramos’ disappearance just days before the arrest, saying that he misses his roommate and she was like family to him.
Ramos Called 911 Eleven Days Before Her Disappearance
According to NBC Los Angeles, Ramos called 911 eleven days before her disappearance and reported that she was “afraid” after an argument with Joy, her roommate.
Joy’s defense team said that Ramos wasn’t afraid of Joy for any real reason but was instead prone to paranoia and had made the call after she had been drinking. They argued that Ramos was suicidal and had died of a medical condition.
The prosecution also said there were scratches and cuts found on Joy’s body when he was arrested and argued that those were from a struggle with Ramos.
KC Joy Will Be Eligible For Parole in 2023
Monday on #Dateline at 10/9c, something a little different. @JoshMankiewicz takes us back through a story he just can’t forget. And tells us why, every step of the way… We hope you’ll join us.
According to the California Department of Corrections, Joy is currently serving time in the Correctional Training Facility in California and will be eligible for parole in December 2023.
During the two weeks between the murder and Ramos’ body being discovered, Joy spoke with Eyewitness News.
“She is my best friend, in fact she is my only friend, my only family member I have,” he said, speaking against the advice of his public defender.
In the closing arguments of the murder trial, prosecutors argued that Joy was in love with Ramos.
“Maribel was his life, and the opportunity for him to be with the love of his life was coming to an end,” Orange County Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons told the jury, as reported by NBC Los Angeles.
READ NEXT: Shawn Grate Was Sentenced to Death, Life in Prison