The court is holding a warrant review today for a man in his 40s, identified as A, who was captured after allegedly tracking down and killing his ex-girlfriend who had previously reported him for stalking.
A is suspected of assaulting and strangling 40-year-old B to death at B's home in Jung-gu, Daejeon, on the afternoon of October 24, before fleeing the scene.
After the crime, A removed the SIM card from his mobile phone, headed toward Incheon International Airport by taxi, and then fled to Gangneung, Gangwon Province. A was apprehended around 7:40 AM on October 25 at a lodging establishment in Gangneung.
According to police investigations, B had reported A to 112 for stalking on October 10 of last year.
The report stated that when B, who was dating A at the time, asked to break up, A made dozens of missed calls and contacted B via text messages over a short period.
Police issued emergency measures No. 1 and No. 2 restricting A from approaching, calling, or texting B, and provided B with a smart watch. However, as B expressed a desire not to have A punished, the emergency measures and other protections were terminated.
Police decided not to forward the case to prosecutors in November of that year, the month following the report, determining that A's actions were difficult to classify as persistent and repetitive stalking.
In December of last year, B reported A to the police once more.
At that time, no special action was taken because B told police officers who were dispatched to the scene that the 112 report was made by mistake during a minor argument.
With no additional stalking reports filed between the two since then and no special safety measures in place, B was found dead about 10 months later, killed by A.
The warrant review for A is scheduled to take place at around 2:30 PM today at the Daejeon District Court.
A has reportedly admitted to the charges during police questioning while claiming that the crime was committed impulsively during an argument with the victim.
(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kihyun | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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