Suspect Locked Freezer From Outside and Had Over 1 Billion Won in Debt After Failed Deal

[Anchor]

It has been revealed that the suspect in the Paju frozen warehouse murder case locked the warehouse from the outside. Police have also confirmed that the suspect is burdened with more than 1 billion won in debt.

Reporter Je Hui-won has the details.

[Reporter]

Police have captured circumstances showing that in the morning on September 3, a man in his 30s surnamed Shin, the suspect in the frozen warehouse murder case, entered the frozen warehouse with a woman in her 60s, came out alone, and locked the door from the outside.

Police believe that Shin, who had over 1 billion won in debt, attempted to pass off tens of billions of won worth of counterfeit department store gift certificates stored in the frozen warehouse as genuine 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 have continuously changed. Early in the investigation, he stated regarding the installation of the freezer that "I intended to confine her if the forgery was discovered." Later, he changed his statements, claiming that "I intended to release the victim once the deposit for the gift certificates was confirmed" and "I installed it thinking she would just look around roughly and leave because it was cold."

Police also confirmed that the victim's cell phone was repeatedly turned on and off multiple times around neighboring Goyang and other areas after the crime, which they believe was an act carried out by Shin to disrupt the investigation.

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

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

Additionally, police have identified a third man who was with the two at the time of Shin's arrest and are investigating whether there was any conspiracy.

Police plan to continue investigating the exact motive and the scale of accomplices until Shin is handed over to the prosecution on September 14.

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