Murder Suspect Denies Involvement

The primary suspect in the disappearance of two schoolgirls and the murder of at least one of them denies any connection to the case, police said Monday.

The 39-year-old man, who was only identified by his family name Jeong, was arrested Sunday night at his mother's house in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province. The suspect was a substitute driver living alone, and his house was 130 meters away from that of Lee Hye-jin, 10, who was found dismembered last week.

Lee and Wu Ye-seul, 8, who lived in the same neighborhood in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, went missing on Dec. 25. The intense months-long search for Lee came to a tragic end last week when her body was found dismembered on a remote hill in Suwon, east of Anyang. Police have yet to locate Wu.

Police focused their search on neighbors and nearby facilities, based on criminologists' opinion that the suspect could be an isolated middle-aged man acquainted with the two girls. During the search, Jeong said he was staying home on the day the girls went missing, but police later found from a car rental service that he had rented a car at around 10 p.m. on Dec. 25 and returned it the next day.

Police discovered blood traces in the trunk of the New EF Sonata rented by Jeong, and investigators from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation found that the DNA of the blood matched those of the two girls.

During an overnight interrogation, however, Jeong denied any wrongdoing, Anyang Police Station officers said. They said the DNA traces alone could not confirm that the suspect was involved, as the car was rented by eight other people after he returned it.

A search of Jeong's house yielded no evidence. "It's difficult to say the investigation is going smoothly," said a police officer who requested anonymity. The police planned to request an arrest warrant for Jeong so they could continue the questioning. (Yonhap)