Calls rising to reinvestigate five death cases concluded as suicides

Calls are rising for the police to reinvestigate five cases in which the causes of death were concluded to be suicide, as some people suspect that the similarities among the cases indicate that they may be the work of a serial killer. Screen captured from Cheong Wa Dae website

By Lee Hyo-jin

Calls are rising for the police to reinvestigate five cases in which the causes of death were concluded to be suicide, including a recent case in Daegu, as some people suspect the deaths may be work of serial killer given the similarities of the cases.

According to Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency, two girls aged 18 and 19 were found dead near a construction site in Jung District, around 5 a.m., July 1. One of them was half-naked with bruises on her body.

After conducting an initial investigation, the police concluded that the two, who met through a social media channel, jumped to their deaths from the roof of a nearby building. As they found no signs of foul play, officers concluded the deaths were a double suicide.

Regarding the partially naked body, the police said, “Both were fully clothed when they went to the roof. The loose pants seem to have come off during the fall.”

On Friday, a public petition was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website calling on the law enforcement authorities to reinvestigate the case, as well as four other cases of suicide which occurred over the last six months.

The petitioner insisted that police launch the investigations based on the possibility of homicide or even a serial killer, citing similarities among the incidents. The victims were all women and their bodies were found partially naked.

A woman in her 60s was found dead half-naked in Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, Dec. 4, 2020. On Jan. 25, a 20-year-old girl was found dead in a rice paddy with some of her clothes lying next to her in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province.

Two naked bodies, a woman in her 40s and a teenage girl, were found in streams near an ecological park in Cheongnyang Country, South Chungcheong Province, Jan. 31. On May 12, the half-naked body of a woman in her 20s with no shoes was found in an orchard in Wanju County in North Jeolla Province.

“Even though all the bodies were found partially naked in deserted places, the police have closed the investigations saying that 'no signs of foul play were found,'” the petition read, claiming that there are suspicious circumstances and unanswered questions to simply regard them as suicides.

“In the Daegu case, it was reported one of the two women had bruises all over her body. If there were no signs of foul play, does it mean the woman voluntarily took off her clothes, beat herself all over the body and jumped to her death?”

The petitioner insisted that the five cases could be homicides disguised as suicides or serial murders, and demanded the government conduct thorough reinvestigations.