Paju Freezer Murder Suspect Locked Door From Outside After Cash Deal Failed

[Anchor]

It has been revealed that the suspect in the Paju freezer murder case locked the warehouse from the outside at the time of the crime. Police have also confirmed that the suspect is carrying more than 1 billion won in debt.

Reporter Je Hui-won has the details.

[Reporter]

Police have captured circumstances showing that on the morning of the 3rd, the suspect in his 30s, surnamed Shin, entered a frozen warehouse with a woman in her 60s, came out alone, and locked it with a padlock from the outside.

Police believe that Shin, who had over 1 billion won in debts, attempted to pass off counterfeit department store gift certificates worth around 50 billion won stored in the freezer as genuine ones for a cash transaction, which ultimately failed.

Police are verifying the credibility of Shin's statements while investigating whether the murder was premeditated from the beginning.

This is because Shin's statements kept changing. Early in the investigation, regarding why he installed the freezer, he stated, "I intended to confine her if the forgery was discovered." Later, he changed his statements to, "I intended to release the victim once the deposit for the gift certificates was confirmed," and "I installed it thinking I hoped she would just take a quick look and leave because it was cold."

Police also confirmed that after the crime, the victim's mobile phone was repeatedly turned on and off in nearby Goyang and other areas, and they believe this was done by Shin to throw off the investigation.

The man who drove the victim to Paju and arranged the meeting with Shin reportedly stated during police questioning that he played the role of brokering and verifying the gift certificate transaction.

Police, who previously booked the man on charges related to gift certificate counterfeiting, are also investigating whether he was complicit in the murder.

Furthermore, police have identified a third man who was with the two at the time of Shin's arrest and are investigating whether he conspired in the crime.

Police plan to continue their investigation into the exact motive and the scale of accomplices until Shin is handed over to the prosecutors on the 14th.

(Video Reporter: Kim Nam-sung | Video Editor: Kim Ho-jin | Designer: Seo Seung-hyun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.