By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter

Forensic experts at Pusan University have been conducting autopsy procedures since the body of a girl, identified as Lee, was discovered in an abandoned water container in Busan on March 6, but so far the results have remained under wraps.

Among the missing details is when the 13-year-old victim of kidnap, rape and murder actually died.

This is causing a great deal of confusion, triggering problems in forming a detailed account of how the prime suspect, Kim Kil-tae, could have raped and strangled her to death.

There have been a couple of conflicting leaks about the results from police and prosecutors.

Prosecution sources reportedly said that Lee's estimated time of death fell after March 4, while police dismissed this as untrue.

One theory goes that, if Lee was killed after March 4, it could place the blame for her death on police for its failure to apprehend Kim.

Kim was discovered by police at a vacant house on March 3 but police failed to catch him in their pursuit. It is also possible that Kim kept Lee alive but killed her due to the pressure of the police pursuit, which went public with its investigation.

Lee was kidnapped in front of her house on Feb. 24 and police opened the case to the public three days later.

However, Pusan University's forensics experts say that it was not possible to pinpoint the time of death by examining the fluid in her eyes.

Within three hours of death, a thin cloudy film develops over the eye. The eyeballs become softer as a result of a reduction of fluid pressure behind the eye and the degree to which this has occurred can be used as a measure of the time that has passed since death.

However, the method is a less common procedure for deaths that evidently occurred out of the limit of several days.

A forensic expert from the university said, "Lee's remains are at an advanced state of decomposition, making it hard to get an estimated time of death."

The team issued a statement saying that it is awaiting results from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation (NISI), which is checking on the level of decomposition of internal organs. NISI is expected to come up with its own conclusion by next week.

Lee was found dead on March 6, 11 days after she disappeared. At the time of discovery, her body was put head first into an abandoned water container in her neighborhood, about 100 meters from her home. Her body was wrapped in plastic sheeting with lime sprinkled on it.

foolsdie@koreatimes.co.kr