BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Funeral to be held for Atlanta spa shooting victim

FILE – In this March 19, 2021, file photo, flowers, candles and signs are displayed at a makeshift memorial in Atlanta, following a shooting. The murder case against Robert Aaron Long, a white man accused of shooting and killing six women of Asian descent and two other people at Atlanta-area massage businesses, could become the first big test for Georgia’s new hate crimes law. (AP Photo/Candice Choi, File)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

ATLANTA (AP) — As they prepare for their mother’s funeral Friday, Yong Ae Yue’s two sons are remembering her as a loving mother who enjoyed karaoke and cooking for her family.

Yue was one of eight people fatally shot March 16 in attacks on massage businesses in Atlanta and nearby Cherokee County.

Yue, 63, was born in South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. in 1979 with her then-husband, Mac Peterson. He was in the Army and they moved to the Columbus area, near Fort Benning. Their older son, Elliott, was born in South Korea, while their younger son, Robert, was born after they moved to Georgia.

The couple divorced some time after their second son’s birth and Yue made the tough decision for her boys to live with their father, believing that would give them a better chance to succeed, said attorney BJay Pak, who is representing her sons. But she remained in their lives and was a loving mother, Pak said.

“Mom was an amazing woman who loved to introduce our family and friends to her home-cooked Korean food and Korean karaoke,” Robert Peterson wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise money to help pay for her memorial service and for family to travel to attend. “Will miss joining mom on her weekly Sunday routine to the grocery store and traditional Korean dinner.”

Yue held a variety of jobs over the years, and had only started working at Aromatherapy Spa in Atlanta in October, Pak said. She told her sons her job was to cook, clean and watch security cameras.

She lived alone with a dog and a cat and had a tight-knit group of friends, Pak said.

“She was happiest when she was around family,” Pak said her sons told him.

Elliott Peterson, 42, served in the military and retired last September. He has fond memories of two weeks he and his children spent with his mother in October, Pak said.

Robert Peterson, 38, saw his mother frequently while doing undergraduate studies at Morehouse College in Atlanta and then went on to get a doctorate in medical sociology from Case Western Reserve University.

“As Bobby tells it, she used to brag to her friends, ‘Bobby’s a doctor but not a medicine doctor, he’s a thinking doctor,’” Pak said.

Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man, is accused of shooting five people, killing four and injuring one, at Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County. Police say he then drove 30 miles south to Atlanta and shot three people at Gold Spa before going across the street to Aromatherapy and shooting Yue. Seven of the slain were women, six of Asian descent.

Long is charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault.

A visitation for Yue is to be held Friday at 10 a.m. followed by an 11 a.m. service in Peachtree Corners that is open to the public.

“We sincerely ask for your fervent prayers for strength and courage as we endure the days, weeks, and months ahead,” Robert Peterson wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We thank you for your love and support as we prepare for justice to be served for mother, and the other families victimized, as we begin the healing process.”

Yue is one of eight people who are being mourned by their families and communities after the shootings.

Suncha Kim, 69, volunteered for charities. Soon Chung Park, a former dancer, remained youthful and fit at age 74. Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49, was an entrepreneur who owned Youngs Asian Massage and other businesses. Daoyou Feng, 44, was one of her employees. Delaina Yaun, 33, was a new mother. Paul Michels, 54, installed security systems. Hyun Jung Grant, 51, loved music and worked at Gold Spa to support two sons.

Southeast

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Sunny

la

70°F Sunny Feels like 70°
Wind
3 mph S
Humidity
22%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
47°F Clear to partly cloudy. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph NNE
Precip
11%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous