Man in South Korea hides girlfriend’s body in apartment for 3.5 years, used air fresheners to mask stench
A man in South Korea has been sentenced to 27 years in prison after killing his girlfriend and hiding her body in their apartment for 3.5 years.
To conceal the crime, he used air fresheners to mask the stench and sprayed insecticide to kill maggots, according to court documents seen by Chosun Daily.
Source: Scitech Daily. Photo for illustration purposes only.
Couple in their 30s had met in Japan
The man in his 30s, identified as “A”, met the woman in October 2015 while she was working at a store in Japan.
The woman, named as “B”, was a divorcee in her 30s who was raising her son alone.
They began cohabiting in 2016, but A was deported to South Korea the next year for overstaying illegally.
Man forced girlfriend to live with him in South Korea
After his deportation, A became obsessed with B and repeatedly contacted her and her acquaintances.
When B travelled to South Korea in February 2018 to visit her ailing mother, A seized B’s passport and forced her to live with him.
The two subsequently resumed cohabitation in a studio apartment in Incheon.
As B’s South Korean resident registration had been cancelled, she could not open a bank account or activate a mobile phone, and remained under A’s strict control.
A cut off B’s contact with her family and provided her only with cash for basic living expenses, leaving her isolated.
Source: Anthony Tran on Unsplash. Photo for illustration purposes only.
Though B’s older sister filed a missing persons report with the police and briefly managed to contact her, their communication was cut off again due to A’s interference.
Man kills girlfriend, leaves body in apartment for 3.5 years
The couple quarrelled on 10 Jan 2021, the day before A was due to be sentenced in a fraud case involving 300 million won (S$267,000).
When she said that she wanted to return to Japan to see her son, he strangled her to death as he feared she would leave him while he was in jail.
After the act, A left B’s body inside the apartment. Though he was sentenced to one year in prison, he was not immediately detained.
To prevent his crime from being uncovered, he continued to pay rent and utilities bills.
He masked the smell of the remains by spraying them with water mixed with air fresheners and detergent. He also ran fans and air-conditioning at all times.
The crime was covered up for 3.5 years, during which A began a new relationship and had a daughter.
Body discovered after man was detained
The killing came to light after A was detained again on the fraud charges in June 2024.
Source: Daum
This meant that he could not continue to manage the concealment of the body.
The apartment’s building manager detected a stench from the room to the police in July, leading to the body finally being discovered.
Man sentenced to 27 years in prison
The 14th Criminal Division of the Incheon District Court ruled that the long-term concealment of the victim’s body was “cruel and heinous, trampling (on) human dignity”, adding:
The victim, unable to escape the crime scene or inform her family of her whereabouts under the defendant’s control, was left alone after her life was extinguished. A severe punishment commensurate with the crime is justified.
Source: Google Maps
A was sentenced to 27 years in prison and ordered to wear an electronic monitoring anklet for 15 years after his release.
He filed a notice of appeal on the ruling last Friday (19 Dec).
Also read: Husband in South Korea who killed wife for refusing sex after miscarriage jailed 25 years
Husband in South Korea who killed wife for refusing sex after miscarriage jailed 25 years
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Featured image adapted from Scitech Daily. Photo for illustration purposes only.
