No clues found in 'cat lady' death
By Kim Se-jeong
Police are having difficulty identifying a suspect in the death of a woman who was taking care of stray cats at an apartment complex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
According to Yongin Police, the woman, surnamed Park, 55, was creating a make-shift shelter for cats in the flowerbed of the apartment complex at around 4:35 p.m. on Thursday, with another apartment resident.
A brick was dropped from the apartment building -- from which floor is unknown -- that hit Park on the head and killed her. The other resident was also hit by debris from the brick but sustained minor injuries.
Police suspect the brick did not fall accidentally but was dropped by someone on purpose.
Officers initially thought they would be able to find the person responsible easily after examining surveillance camera recordings around and inside the apartment building. However, they revealed nothing.
Police said they interviewed residents of the 18-story building face-to-face. They found 20 residents were inside their homes at the time of the accident, and all denied any involvement.
Officers then distributed fliers with a picture of the brick, asking people to report if they saw a person carrying it on the day of the incident; any person who has a strong dislike for cats; or anyone arguing with the woman over her care for stray cats.
They are also waiting for a forensic analysis of the brick, to see if there are any fingerprints on it.
People in the neighborhood said they had seen the dead woman feeding stray cats before, but nothing was unusual.
The incident drew many sympathetic messages for the victim and wishes for the capture of the perpetrator on social networks.
An animal activist from the Korean Animal Welfare Association said the incident, if it turns out to be a homicide, was worrisome.
“Most cases involving animals stem from a personal abhorrence of them,” he said. “But, if hatred has led to the killing of a person who takes care of animals, it is a very serious issue and needs a serious discussion.”
Lee Soo-jung, a criminal psychology professor at Kyonggi University, said, “The person may not have wanted to kill the woman with the brick, but they definitely wanted to harm her.”
On the Internet, many comments show antipathy toward stray cats and people who take care of them, complaining that cats gather near their houses and make noises because a neighbor takes care of them.
There are many bloggers who seek to remove cats and bully such caregivers, and there is advice such as, “Mix chemicals with cat food and they will all die.”
Some express concerns about such an attitude. “A cat living on the street without an owner doesn’t mean you can just treat it bad. A cat has a life,” one user said.