'Brave Detective' dug to the end into the reality of brutal crimes.
On the 13th, episode 71 of T-cast E Channel 'Brave Detective 4' (directed by Lee Ji-seon) featured Geojegyeongchalseo Women and Juvenile Investigation Team lieutenant Kim Jin-woo, Gyeongsangnam-do Police Agency Special Unit corporal Jin Seong-hyeon, and former superintendent of the scientific investigation unit (KCSI) Yoon Oechul, and detective Kim Jin Soo, who revealed investigation logs. Also, actor Kim Tae-hoon appeared as a guest. Kim Tae-hoon said, "I like films, dramas and variety shows that show the real side. But this program being real made me feel uneasy," showing signs of emotional immersion.
The first case introduced that day was a clandestine burial whose truth, hidden for 16 years, was revealed. The incident began when a worker doing waterproofing work on the roof of a multiunit dwelling reported, "It seems a corpse has come out." There was a structure behind the rooftop room where piping had been embedded and cemented over in a roughly 55 cm-wide space on both sides, and while removing the cement for waterproofing work, a human foot was discovered.
When detectives and the excavation team removed the cement, they confirmed the body of a woman inside a travel suitcase. The body was wrapped in vacuum-compression plastic, sealed off from outside air, and the cause of death was found to be blunt-force head trauma. The victim was revealed to be a woman in her late 30s who had lost contact with her family 16 years earlier and whose disappearance had been reported 13 years ago; she was a rooftop room tenant. At the time, she had said, "I'm going to my mother's house," and disappeared. Detectives began investigating, viewing the cohabiting man who had lived with the victim in the rooftop room as the prime suspect.
The cohabiting man, surnamed Lee (a pseudonym), had 13 prior convictions including drug offenses, and records showed drug use and distribution. During the missing person investigation, he had raised the victim's romantic troubles and claimed, "She left home." At arrest, Lee was incoherent and tested positive in a drug test. He gave inconsistent statements such as, "I beat her intending to kill her, but I didn't think she would die," and consistently tried to shift blame to the victim. Acquaintances said the victim suffered habitual assault and economic exploitation. There were also indications she was forced into illegal prostitution. Lee was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in prison. However, the crime of concealing a corpse was not applied because the statute of limitations had expired under the law at the time of the crime.
The case KCSI introduced next began with an early morning fire report. A fire broke out in a barbershop on the basement first floor of the building, and the interior was filled with smoke. Inside the inner room, the body of the barbershop owner, a woman in her 60s, was found. There were signs of strangulation on the victim, and a crumpled card receipt and silica gel usually used as a desiccant were found in her mouth, shocking investigators. The safe was empty, and the CCTV unit and monitor had been removed.
Checking the CCTV installed on the building's back door, footage captured a man and a woman hurriedly leaving immediately after the fire. The man was carrying the CCTV unit, and the woman who followed appeared elderly, adding to the puzzlement. Nearby CCTV tracking showed the two stopped at a convenience store and then went in different directions. The woman went to a hospital and was diagnosed with an estimated six-week recovery for a left elbow fracture. Investigation showed the woman was not an accomplice but an employee of the barbershop. She had her wallet containing her ID taken by the perpetrator and was threatened that her family would be harmed if she reported it, so she looked flustered and anxious when she saw detectives.
The perpetrator was in his 20s to 30s and had previously been a customer at the barbershop. After paying 90,000 won and receiving a roughly two-hour massage, he demanded a refund; when refused, he locked the door, returned and strangled the victim. An employee tried to stop him by offering money, but the assault did not stop. He then stole 100,000 won from the safe, took the victim's mobile phone and the CCTV unit, placed paper and clothing over the body, set it on fire and fled.
Detectives secured about 150 CCTV from the scene to the alleyway of the residential neighborhood where the suspect disappeared and found clear shots of the face, identifying an individual with confirmation from a local detective. He had been arrested two months earlier for theft in the act. With a record of 13 offenses including robbery and theft, it was also confirmed he had served time for aggravated robbery and rape. It was especially shocking that the person who opened the suspect's door during the arrest was his grandmother. Initially denying the crime, he admitted after being presented with CCTV evidence and confessed the location where he had hidden the CCTV unit. He said he forced things into the victim in anger because she had disrespected him. The court sentenced him to 30 years in prison. Ahn Jung-hwan said, "It seems some people think of others like objects that can fill them," expressing bitterness.
[Photo] Provided by E Channel
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