Suspect Kim Confesses to Rape, Murder
Kim Kil-tae May Be Moving for 'Insanity Plea'
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Kim Hui-woong, head officer at Sasang Police Station in Busan, said Monday that Kim Kil-tae, the chief suspect in the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, identified as Lee, had confessed to committing the crime.
"During two intense questioning sessions, Kim admitted to killing the girl," he told a news briefing, explaining that Kim suffocated Lee with his hands as she screamed while being raped.
The police chief said Kim had tried to insinuate that he committed the crime under "extenuating circumstances," saying he couldn't remember the details because he was drunk.
Kim's admissions came slowly. First, the 33-year-old jobless man only conceded that he had moved the body of the girl.
He originally argued that he had nothing to do with the rape and murder, even when confronted with the evidence that his DNA had a positive match with a sample found in the girl's body. After a lie detector test, Kim began to make his admissions.
"Based on his testimony, the child was killed hours after being kidnapped. And her body was abandoned around midnight on the same day," the police chief said.
The victim was found dead with signs of rape inside an abandoned water tank just 100 meters from her home, where she was kidnapped on Feb. 25.
The chief said, "Kim began to confess after we showed him an autopsy report on the victim," which showed the positive DNA match.
He added Kim's confession was a result of psychological pressure, after officers summoned the suspect's best friend and had them talk.
Police also had an officer, identified as Park whose daughter is the same age as the victim, talk to him, and were considering calling in his parents as a last resort.
"We tried to let him know how devastated the victim's parents were," the chief said.
"All of a sudden, Sunday night, the suspect said he wanted to talk to Park," an officer said. "He is the only person I want to tell the truth to," said the officer, quoting Kim.
According to Park, his talk with Kim was not focused on the crime, but a heartbreaking period of time the victim's parents are passing through as a result of the atrocity.
"I never scolded him. I just tried to help him feel bitterness," the officer quoted Park as saying.
Meanwhile, police found there was a person who witnessed Kim abandoning the victim's body in the water tank.
"We found a witness before Kim was apprehended Friday," the police chief said. "The witness was hesitant to report what he knew to police for fear of reprisal." Kim refused to give details.
"The witness was working at that time."
Based on testimony from the suspect and the witness, police plan to conduct an on-site reenactment today.
김길태 범행일체 자백
경찰은 부산 여중생 이모(13) 양 납치살해 피의자인 김길태(33)가 시신유기 혐의를 인정한 데 이어 납치, 성폭행, 살해 혐의 등 범행일체를 자백했다고 15일 밝혔다.
이번 사건의 수사 부본부장인 김희웅 사상경찰서장은 이날 오전 브리핑에서 "피의자가 '이 양이 성폭행 당시 소리를 질렀고, 그것을 막는 과정에 손으로 입을 막아 살해한 것 같다'고 진술했다"고 말했다.
김 서장은 "시신유기 혐의를 인정한 피의자에게 이 양 시신의 부검결과를 말해주자 김이 두손으로 얼굴을 감싸고 괴로워하며 박모 수사관을 불러 달라고 요청해 자백했다"면서 "납치 과정에 대해서는 '술에 취해 기억이 나지 않는다'고 진술하고 있다"고 설명했다.
경찰은 16일 이 양의 집과 살해 및 성폭행 장소, 시신을 유기한 곳 등에 대해 현장검증을 벌이기로 했다.