Police investigating a man in his 30s on suspicion of luring a woman in her 60s into a cafe freezer in Paju, Gyeonggi, confining her, and causing her death said they determined it was a planned crime. No accomplices have been identified so far.
According to police on the 14th, the Paju Police Station arrested A on charges of murder of a lured person and forgery and use of negotiable instruments, sent the case to prosecutors that day, and stated accordingly.
A is suspected of luring B, a woman in her 60s, into a cafe freezer in Munsan-eup, Paju, around 11 a.m. on the 3rd, confining her, and causing her death.
In a police interview, A initially admitted the charges but then changed the account to the effect of, "I panicked and closed the freezer door." The implication is that it was not a planned crime.
However, police determined that A lured B into the freezer and confined her as part of a planned crime. A review of relevant materials, including digital forensics on A's mobile phone, found no indications that another person took part in the killing.
B, who died, was found to have gone to the cafe at the request of a third party to authenticate the legitimacy of gift certificates, where she met with misfortune. At the time, B was meeting A for the first time.
Forged gift certificates worth 50 billion won were also found inside the freezer. Police believe A committed the crime while trying to cash the forged gift certificates, given that A was carrying a large amount of debt.
Police are investigating the purpose of producing the forged gift certificates and the transaction structure, and are also looking into whether there were any accomplices involved in distribution. Police first booked C, who played an intermediary role between A and B in the gift certificate transaction process, on charges of forgery of negotiable instruments and is under investigation.