After a gang leader was murdered in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the only witnesses who would talk with the police were tourists. They looked through so-called “mug books” filled with photographs of Asian men - and pointed out a man named Chol Soo Lee. Years later, a journalist decided to investigate his case, and described it as an “unreal, Alice-in-Chinatown murder case." Today’s episode comes from the Smithsonian’s Sidedoor podcast . Julie Ha's documentary is Free Chol Soo Lee . Join our newsletter by 2/28/26 to be entered to win a free year of Criminal Plus: ⁠⁠thisiscriminal.com/newsletter⁠⁠ . (Additional rules apply.) Say hello on ⁠ Facebook ⁠ , ⁠ Instagram ⁠ and ⁠ TikTok ⁠ . Follow the show and review us on ⁠ Apple Podcasts ⁠ . ⁠ Sign up for Criminal Plus ⁠ to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal , ad-free listening of all of our shows, invitations to virtual events, special merch deals, and more. We also make ⁠ This is Love ⁠ and ⁠ Phoebe Reads a Mystery ⁠ . Artwork by ⁠ Julienne Alexander ⁠ . Check out ⁠ our online shop ⁠ . Episode transcripts are posted on ⁠ our website ⁠ . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices