{A partially}-blurred picture reveals the scene the place a person murdered his accomplice 16 years in the past and hid the physique in a one-room house in Geoje Metropolis, South Gyeongsang Province. Courtesy of Geoje Police Station
By KTimes
A stunning chilly case has been solved after 16 years, resulting in the arrest of a person in his 50s who murdered his live-in girlfriend and encased her physique in cement on their house balcony.
The crime, which had almost gone unnoticed as a long-term lacking individual case, resurfaced when a house owner’s leak restore inadvertently uncovered the hid stays.
Police within the southeastern metropolis of Geoje mentioned Monday that they arrested the person who’s accused of murdering his girlfriend B (then in her 30s) throughout an argument in October 2008.
The incident occurred in a rooftop studio house in Geoje, the place the person struck the girl on the pinnacle and face with a blunt object, leading to her loss of life. To hide the crime, the person positioned the girl’s physique in a journey suitcase, moved it to an out of doors balcony adjoining to the studio, and encased it in cement and bricks.
The lady, who had minimal contact together with her household, was not reported lacking till 2011. When the police started investigating, they initially suspected the boyfriend, the final individual recognized to be together with her.
Nonetheless, the person claimed that they’d damaged up, and with no bodily proof or leads, the case went chilly. It was categorised as a lacking individual case, with prospects of loss of life or fleeing overseas being thought-about.
The crime got here to mild final month when a building employee, tasked with repairing a leak on the rooftop balcony, broke via the concrete and found the suitcase containing the girl’s stays.
The physique, which had been partially preserved as a result of sealed atmosphere, was recognized via fingerprint evaluation. An post-mortem revealed that she died from blunt drive trauma to the pinnacle.
Following the invention, police rapidly zeroed in on the boyfriend because the prime suspect and arrested him on Sept. 19 in southeastern metropolis of Yangsan, the place he had been dwelling.
Throughout questioning, the boyfriend confessed to the crime, saying that he killed the girl throughout a heated argument over a romantic concern. He additionally admitted to disposing of her cell phone and the homicide weapon within the sea close to Geoje.
The investigation revealed further particulars about why the crime remained hidden for therefore lengthy. In 2008, shortly after the girl went lacking, her household visited Geoje however had been unable to satisfy the boyfriend, who had knowledgeable the owner that the girl left after an argument.
The person continued dwelling within the house for one more eight years till 2017 when he moved out after being imprisoned on drug expenses. The owner, unable to get rid of the person’s belongings, left the house unoccupied till 2020 when a court-ordered eviction was lastly processed.
A police officer mentioned, “The owner, who lived elsewhere, used the room as a space for storing. The concrete construction was situated on a balcony separate from the rooftop room, making it tough to note from contained in the room.”
Police initially thought-about charging the person with concealing a corpse, however the statute of limitations had expired. They’re now investigating further crimes associated to his drug use and can ahead the case to prosecutors as soon as the investigation is full.
This text from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Occasions, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Occasions.
