The members of Brave Detective 5 were enraged by the brazenness of the younger brother who murdered his sister, who had been suffering from depression.
On the 24th, episode 5 of Tcast E Channel's Brave Detective 5 (directed by Lee Ji-seon) featured former Andong Police Station detective Kim Yong-ho, Hwang Gyu-hwan, superintendent of the Yeongju Police Station women and youth investigation team, and former commissioner of the scientific investigation unit (KCSI) Yoon Oechul and officer Kim Jin Soo, who revealed investigation logs.
The first case introduced that day began when a report was received that something indistinguishable as animal bone or human bone had been found in a field. The field was a sparsely populated area, and several large bones that appeared to be human were found at a spot presumed to have been dug up by wild animals. The search found the lower body buried wearing clothes and shoes, and only part of the ribs remained inside the upper garment. Most of the remains were skeletal, making fingerprint identification difficult, and the absence of a skull hindered identification of the deceased.
During the investigation, a metal implant was discovered near the left arm, and by checking the list of missing women in the area, investigators identified one person who had a history of left arm fracture surgery and were able to identify a nearby person. The victim was a woman in her mid-40s; her address was a 15-minute drive from where the body was found, and a missing person report had been filed three months before the body was discovered. The identity matched, and it was revealed with particular sorrow that the place where the body was found was only 100 meters from her late father's gravesite.
The victim's mother testified she last saw her daughter nine months before the body was found. She had been out of contact with her daughter, who had long suffered from depression, and because she had been staying at lodgings in another region, the report was delayed. The mother said that after her daughter went to a jjimjilbang with her younger brother, the daughter called the next day saying, "I'm leaving now. Don't worry," so she thought she had simply left. She also explained that a message saying "don't look for me" was found in her daughter's room, which delayed the report.
The mother said that on the morning of the last call, she received a message from the insurance company that a traffic accident compensation payment of 32 million won would be deposited in her daughter's account. The withdrawal statement bore the victim's signature, and the bank security guard remembered that the victim visited with a man of similar age. The person who had been with the victim was identified as her younger brother, Mr. Choi (alias).
Reviewing Mr. Choi's financial transactions revealed that 10 million won had been deposited into his account on the day the compensation was withdrawn. He had been working day labor without a steady job and, when he got money, was found to have spent it at PC rooms or bars. The owner of a regular bar testified that Mr. Choi had once paid off a 7 million won debt with 10 million won, purchased a used car, and carried bundles of cash.
When found at a regular PC room, Mr. Choi showed relatively calm behavior and told detectives he would "tell everything he knew" when asked to accompany them voluntarily. He initially said he received 5 million won from his sister from the compensation, then reversed his statement, saying his sister had paid off his debts and even bought him a truck. Mr. Choi claimed that on the day they went to the jjimjilbang, his sister, who suffered from severe depression, asked how to die. He said they booked two rooms at an inn instead of going to the jjimjilbang and that he told her how she might kill herself because she said she couldn't do it alone. He then said he told her to "receive the compensation and then die," and absurdly claimed he advised that cutting the neck with a saw was quick.
Regarding motive, he claimed he was acceding to his sister's request, and investigators confirmed he had actually purchased a chainsaw. Later, the discovery of the victim's head wrapped in plastic where he indicated added to the shock. Mr. Choi testified that he attempted the crime near his father's gravesite, but when his sister said that was not right, they moved to another location. Ahn Jung-hwan angrily said, "It has to make sense to be heard. I can't listen to this." Mr. Choi shouted that he had spent money at a room salon because he was distraught after the crime and demanded understanding, which further shocked those present. The message found in the victim's room was also revealed to have been fabricated by Mr. Choi to prevent the mother's report. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The charge of assisted homicide was not recognized, but his history of psychiatric hospital treatment was reflected in sentencing.
The case introduced by KCSI that followed was one in which the victim's habit led to the suspect's capture. The case began when a patrol officer at a police box discovered a deceased person inside a bar during a nighttime patrol. The deceased was a bar owner in her 50s who ran the place alone without employees. She was found kneeling on the floor and bent over with her face buried in the sofa. Signs of customers' visits that had not been cleaned up were scattered throughout the hall, and one drawer in the back room was pulled out intact, adding to the mystery. A 260mm shoe print was found on the floor.
Among the fingerprints collected at the scene, two clear prints were confirmed: one belonged to a person with a drug conviction and the other to a person with 14 prior convictions. The fingerprint of the person with a drug conviction was found on a displayed bottle of liquor, making it unlikely they visited that day, while the prints of the person with 14 priors were found on a glass at a customer's table. The 14-prior offender, who turned himself in, testified that when he went to the bar there was another male customer at the table diagonally across from him and that he felt the victim was watching him.
Former boyfriends who had assaulted the victim and figures who had threatened nearby business owners were also considered suspects, but clues came from an unexpected place: the victim's children testified that their mother had a habit of hiding sales proceeds in various places. On a follow-up search of the bar, a 100,000-won check was found under the flooring, and its issuance date was the day before the body was found. The name on the check was not clearly visible, and only the phone number and surname could be confirmed.
Tracing the check showed it had been withdrawn by a man in his 30s who was selling bags wholesale in Dongdaemun and paid it as goods payment to ten clients. The shop owners mostly used the funds to pay their employees' wages, and the owner of a bag factory testified that a newly paid seamstress stopped coming to work the day after receiving her wage. The seamstress matched the surname on the check and was a 32-year-old man. Records showed he had six prior convictions, and the handwriting on a note found at the scene also matched. His shoe size was confirmed to be 260mm.
The arrested seamstress denied the crime but ultimately admitted after fingerprint, check, and footprint evidence was presented. He claimed he committed the crime because he felt the victim had disrespected him. He said that while drinking together, when the victim moved to a different table and he confronted her, she slapped him, and he committed the crime in a moment of impulse. He also testified that he rummaged through the back room drawer to recover 300,000 won in drinks money. He was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of murder and theft.
[Photo] Broadcast capture
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