"Send Me an Elderly Woman": Meticulous Planning Behind Freezing Storage Murder

[Anchor]

As the prosecution formally indicted the suspect in the Paju freezing storage murder case, investigators concluded that the crime was a meticulously planned scheme targeting billions of won in penalty fees. They determined that everything was premeditated, from preparing counterfeit gift certificates and a freezing storage facility in advance to specifically targeting an elderly woman.

Reporter Yoo Soo-Hwan has the details.

[Reporter]

During police questioning, the 39-year-old suspect surnamed Shin, who is accused in the Paju freezing storage murder, claimed that he had no intention to kill and that broker Mr. A, who mediated the department store gift certificate transaction, also knew the certificates were counterfeit.

However, the prosecution, which took over the case in mid-September, secured a recorded phone call through forensic analysis of Shin's mobile phone in which Shin discussed the criminal plan with a third party even before meeting Mr. A.

The recordings revealed a plot to murder the person who came to inspect the counterfeit department store gift certificates, make them disappear along with the certificates, and extort billions of won in penalty fees from the buyer side.

The prosecution concluded that the entire crime was premeditated, pointing to the 50 billion won in counterfeit department store gift certificates prepared a month in advance, the large freezing storage installed a week prior, and the demand made a day before for an elderly woman to be sent to inspect the certificates.

Shin, who had accumulated over 1 billion won in debt while running a large cafe, intended to pocket the transaction proceeds if the deal went through without the counterfeiting being detected, but focused more on a contingency plan in case the scam was exposed.

Because of this, the victim, who had no idea it was a planned crime and believed she only needed to verify the gift certificates, was locked inside a -25°C (-13°F) freezing storage unit for 27 hours and found dead.

The prosecution concluded that it was a solo crime, stating that individuals pointed out by Shin as accomplices during police investigations were unaware of the counterfeit gift certificates or the murder plot.

The prosecution indicted Shin on October 1 while keeping him in custody, applying charges including the murder of an abducted person, as well as the forgery and uttering of securities.

Video Editing: Kim Ho-jin
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.