A woman in her 60s was found dead in the freezer of a cafe in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea on 4 Sept.
The cafe owner, a 39-year-old man surnamed Shin, was subsequently arrested in suspicion of luring and killing the victim.
Police traced the woman’s phone location after receiving a missing person’s report.
They then found her body inside a 30-square-metre, container-like freezer at a cafe in Paju city at aboout 2pm on 4 Sept.
Source: Hankook Daily
The temperature inside the freezer was reportedly -25°C.
Police identified Shin as the prime suspect as he had been with the victim around the time she went missing.
After the authorities secured an arrest warrant, they arrested the cafe owner in Seoul and detained him on charges of murder.
Investigators believe that the victim and the suspect met for the first time at the cafe on 3 Sept.
The victim reportedly went there to discuss gift certificates with the suspect.
It is believed that the suspect is known for purchasing gift certificates below market rate and converting them into cash.
Image courtesy of DNY59 on Canva. For illustration purposes only.
The suspect then led the unsuspecting woman into freezer, telling her the gift certificates were there.
Police also found counterfeit department store gift certificates worth 50 billion won (approximately S$47 million) inside the freezer.
The authorities are currently investigating whether these counterfeit gift certificates are connected to the crime.
They have also requested an autopsy to identify whether the victim was killed in the freezer or had died there after being locked inside alive.
Emerging evidence suggests that the incident was a meticulously planned crime.
According to Asia Business Daily, the cafe had announced its temporary closure on 3 Sept — the day the victim and the cafe owner met.
Source: Asia Business Daily.
Shin also told his employees not to come to work.
Additionally, both of the CCTV cameras inside the cafe were not functioning that day.
Police suspect there were accomplices, such as the person who introduced the victim to the suspect.
Presently, they are probing the distribution channels of the counterfeit gift certificates and looking into the motive for the crime.
Also read: Bisected body of man who died 15 years ago found inside freezer in Japan, ex-wife arrested
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Featured image adapted from Yonhap News.