A man in his 30s accused of luring a woman in her 60s into a cafe freezer in Paju, Gyeonggi, confining her, and causing her death was sent to prosecutors under arrest on the 14th. Police plan to announce the findings of the investigation, including the specific motive, this afternoon.
Paju Police Station said it referred a man in his 30s, identified as A, to prosecutors in custody on charges including murder by inducement and confinement. A avoided exposure by taking the very back seat of the transport bus and lowering his head without contacting or taking questions from reporters. The bus soon exited the police station's main gate and headed to the prosecutors' office.
A is accused of luring a woman in her 60s, identified as B, into a cafe freezer in Munsan-eup, Paju, around 11 a.m. on the 3rd, confining her, and causing her death.
B was found frozen in the freezer around 2:30 p.m. on the 4th, about 14 hours after her family filed a missing person report. The internal temperature of the freezer was found to be minus 18 degrees Celsius.
In the police investigation, A was found to have tried to cash out gift certificates through so-called "gift certificate brokers." B reportedly went to the cafe to appraise the gift certificates at the request of a third party.
Ten boxes of department store gift certificates in 500,000-won denominations labeled "for filming" were found in the freezer. The total face value was said to be about 50 billion won.
Before the crime, A visited a printing company to commission the production of the gift certificates, and the freezer in question was also rented after contacting a company, was found.
Police have been investigating the possibility that the crime occurred as A tried to cash out the gift certificates, based on factors including that A carried a large amount of debt.
A was said to have retracted statements during the investigation. On the 4th, when B's missing person report was filed, A gave statements to the missing persons investigator that contradicted the facts regarding the last place A parted ways with B and subsequent movements, was found.
After being arrested, A initially said the crime was planned, then later changed the account amid the revelation of the gift certificate issue, saying the freezer door was shut impulsively.
In connection with the case, a man identified as C, initially known as the gift certificate broker who linked B to A, was also booked on charges of forging negotiable securities.
Police plan to announce at 2 p.m. the results of the investigation into the case, including A's specific motive and the circumstances of the production and distribution of the gift certificates.