Neighbor arrested in fatal stabbing of Choi’s Kimchi co-founder Matt Choi

PORTLAND — A neighbor of Matthew Choi, co-founder of a popular kimchi business, was arrested Wednesday in his October stabbing death, police say.

Allen Coe, who lives in the same Southeast 12th Avenue apartment complex where Choi was fatally stabbed, was arrested on suspicion of murder, burglary and other charges, according to Portland police. He’s being held in the Multnomah County Detention Center and is expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon.

Any connection between the men, other than their shared apartment complex, remains unclear.

Authorities have not released information regarding the circumstances of the stabbing, but a statement on an online crowdfunding page set up for Choi’s family says Choi’s “life was senselessly taken away … when a stranger broke into his apartment while he was asleep and took his life.”

Choi, the 33-year-old co-founder of Choi’s Kimchi, helped grow his mother’s kimchi recipe from a Portland Farmers Market booth to a supermarket staple throughout the Northwest.

According to the Choi’s Kimchi website, you can now find jars of the company’s lightly spiced Napa cabbage and other fermented veggies at more than 100 stores, from Ashland in the south to Bellingham, Washington in the north, and as far east as Ketchum, Idaho.

Choi was fatally stabbed Oct. 25 in his apartment building in the 300 block of Southeast 12th Avenue, which is in Portland’s Buckman neighborhood. Police previously said they were trying to identify a potential suspect and asked the public for any video from nearby homes or businesses.

Coe is accused of single counts of murder and attempted murder, as well as two counts apiece of burglary, identity theft and unlawful use of a weapon, according to court records.