The man who allegedly murdered a lone female hiker in Mount Sapaesan in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, is set to have his arrest warrant hearing Monday.
Police requested an arrest warrant for the suspect, aged 45 and surnamed Jeong, on Sunday under charges of robbery and murder. They are currently investigating relevant CCTV records and Jeong’s telephone conversations, as well as matching his testimony with his actual path of actions.
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(Yonhap) |
While the police provisionally reached the conclusion Sunday that the prime motive for the crime was money, they are running final checks on whether the suspect had also attempted sexual assault.
The 55-year-old victim was found partly undressed, lying face down on a picnic mat on a hiking trail at Mount Sapaesan on June 8. The mountain is part of Bukhansan National Park.
The suspect claimed he was unaware that his strangling had killed the woman, and that he had undressed her merely to prevent her from following him.
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(Yonhap) |
He said he found only 15,000 won ($12.80) in the woman’s purse.
The suspect turned himself in to police on June 10 in Wonju, Gangwondo Province, where he had been living off day-to-day physical labor.
Media coverage of the ongoing DNA investigation based on perspiration marks on the victim’s clothes had prompted him to come out of hiding.
By Lim Jeong-yeo (
kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)
