After nearly two decades including a botched initial investigation and series of trials, a movie and a reinvestigation, the murder that took place at a fast-food joint in Itaewon returned to the spotlight Wednesday with the extradition of the key U.S. suspect.

Arthur John Patterson, handcuffed and donned in all white, arrived at In­cheon International Airport to face charges of murdering 22-year-old Korean student Cho Joong-pill in 1997.

Patterson denied the allegations and said his Korean-American friend Edward Lee was the culprit.

“It’s not right that they (the family of the victim) have to keep going through the pain over and over and over, but it’s not right that I’m here either. I still shocked that I’m even here,” the 36-year-old suspect told the swarm of journalists staked out at Incheon International Airport.

In 1997, prosecutors indicted Lee on charges of stabbing the victim to death, while accusing Patterson of carrying a weapon and eliminating the evidence by getting rid of the knife and burning his bloodstained clothes. Patterson, 18 years old at the time, was staying in Seoul as the dependent of a civilian worker with the U.S. military.

The Supreme Court, however, acquitted Lee in 1999, citing a lack of evidence. Patterson was sentenced to a 1 1/2-year prison term in 1998, but was granted a special pardon on the Liberation Day of the same year.

Patterson left the country the following year when prosecutors failed to extend his travel ban on time.

The investigation was heavily criticized as prosecutors reportedly failed to properly question the suspects despite key evidence, due to a language barrier, while the Status of Forces Agreement prevented widespread questioning of other relevant witnesses including their friends.

The case was resurrected when a film, “The Case of Itaewon Homicide,” based on the murder was released in 2009, stoking widespread public furor. The prosecutors relaunched the probe and this time pointed to Patterson as the real suspect.

Lee, who left for the U.S. after his acquittal, reportedly returned to Seoul several years back and vowed to support the reinvestigation. His current whereabouts are as of yet unconfirmed.

In December 2011, the prosecution indicted Patterson for murder and set into motion the extradition process.

While the U.S. law authorities allowed the extradition in October 2012 after the suspect was caught in collaboration with American investigators, Patterson submitted multiple habeas corpus petitions. He also requested the suspension of the extradition measure.

The U.S. appeals court, however, ruled that his extradition to Korea was valid in May this year. His retrial request was also dismissed in July.

Patterson did not request an additional suspension for extradition, which enabled Korean investigators to persuade the U.S. authorities to extradite him last month. An extradition suspension measure has to be applied for within two months of the court’s latest decision.

Five Korean officers of the Justice Ministry flew to the U.S. on Monday to bring him to Korea.

Patterson was immediately taken to the Seoul Detention Center upon arrival. He is expected to stand trial no later than next month, officials said.

A public defender has been assigned to Patterson, they said.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)