Man in his 50s arrested for 'murdering a teenager'... Women in common-law relationships also request warrants (comprehensive report 2)

Police request forensic analysis of victim's damaged cell phone

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Lee Min-young, Jeong Ji-soo, and Yang Su-yeon = A man in his 50s suspected of murdering a 15-year-old girl in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul was arrested on the 13th.

An arrest warrant was also requested on this day for a woman in her 20s who is in a common-law relationship with a man and is accused of engaging the victim in a 'conditional meeting'.

On this day, Kang Young-hoon, chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Northern District Court, held a pre-arrest interrogation (warrant substantive examination) of Mr. A (59), who is suspected of murder, without his attendance, and issued a warrant, saying, "There is concern about destruction of evidence and escape."

Mr. A is suspected of killing Ms. B (15), a victim of her son's sexual crime, at a shared lodging in Jeongneung-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul on the 10th of this month. He was arrested in a drunken state at the hotel in the early morning of the 11th.

Because Mr. A did not appear for the warrant review, the decision on whether to arrest him was made only on evidence such as investigation records.

The Seongbuk Police Station, which applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. A the morning before, announced that Mr. A continued to express his intention to give up attending the warrant review and notified the court. It is reported that Mr. A is refusing to make a statement during the police investigation.

The police added that they are not currently considering disclosing Mr. A's personal information.

In addition, the Seoul Northern District Public Prosecution Office requested an arrest warrant for Ms. C, a woman in her 20s, on charges of abetting theft, obtaining stolen property, fraud, and violating the Youth Sexual Protection Act, before arresting her. Mr. C is the common-law spouse of Mr. A.

Nowon Police Station is investigating allegations that Mr. C, along with the deceased Ms. B and Mr. A's son, lured men through a chat application (app) through 'conditional meetings' and extorted money and valuables, and in the process, forced Ms. B into prostitution.

Ms. B's family reportedly filed a complaint to the police, claiming that Mr. C used so-called 'gaslighting' to psychologically dominate Ms. B, ordering Ms. B to engage in prostitution and run away from home, and to steal a luxury watch from her home.

In July of this year, Nowon Police also applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. C on charges of abetting theft, etc., but the prosecution (currently the Public Prosecution Office) did not request it.

The police again applied for an arrest warrant to the Northern Regional Public Prosecution Office on the 8th of this month, and the Public Prosecution Office requested the warrant on that day.

According to the Yonhap News coverage, Mr. A purchased a weapon and a bullet from two household goods stores in Incheon on the 10th, then arrived at the shared accommodation at 5:17 pm, met Ms. B, who was in front of the house first, and entered the accommodation together.

Approximately three hours later, at around 8:30 p.m., Mr. A left the lodging alone and was found to have wandered nearby, damaging Ms. B's cell phone and throwing it away.

The police found a cell phone at the scene and requested forensics.

It was confirmed that Mr. C had reserved the shared accommodation where the crime occurred.

Mr. A, who had been living in motels and saunas due to financial difficulties, was receiving help from Mr. C, and the accommodation in question was also booked in Mr. C's name upon Mr. A's request.

Ms. B, who died, was of middle school age, but did not attend school. He had often run away from home, and after reporting to the police several times due to family issues, he was admitted to a youth shelter from the beginning of this year.

Since then, it is reported that he has been living in various shelters, including areas outside of Seoul.

In addition, Ms. B is the victim of a false rape of a minor committed by Mr. A's son in January of this year.

Even consensual sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16 is punishable as rape. The Public Prosecution Office was investigating when Ms. B's parents filed a complaint against Mr. A's son.

Person A's son was found guilty of stealing money from people who had agreed to meet on conditional terms, separate from the fake rape case.

Also, on the 15th of last month, he was indicted on charges of theft and sentenced to six months in prison and two years of probation. He is currently being held in custody for another theft case.

The police are looking into the possibility that Mr. A murdered Ms. B in retaliation for her son's incident or to cover up Mr. C's crime.