Despondent Over Stock Losses, Man Murders Japanese Woman He Harbored One-Sided Crush On

This is suspect A, wearing a cap pulled down low and keeping their head bowed, boarding a police transport vehicle.

They gave no response to reporters' questions asking whether they admitted to the crime.

[Did you go there to commit a sexual crime? How do you know the victim? Why did you go all the way to Cheonan?]

Suspect A is accused of murdering a Japanese woman in her 20s with a pre-prepared weapon at an officetel in Cheonan on October 28.

During police questioning, suspect A stated that after losing about 5 million won in stock investments, they decided to take their own life, but being afraid to die alone, they intended to die together with the victim.

Based on the execution of a search warrant at suspect A's residence and the results of a smartphone forensic analysis, police concluded that suspect A planned and committed the crime alone.

It was confirmed that suspect A first met the victim in September and met her a total of three times up until the day of the crime, and that they were not in a romantic relationship.

While suspect A harbored a one-sided crush on the victim, there was no history of them continuously exchanging contact or reports of stalking.

Considering that the victim was found not wearing a top at the time of discovery, police also investigated the possibility of a sexual crime, but stated that no related evidence was found in the verbal autopsy findings.

Consequently, police applied only the charge of murder and referred suspect A into custody to the prosecution.

Police also decided not to disclose the detailed circumstances of how the two met, taking into consideration requests from the bereaved family, and decided not to release suspect A's personal information.

(Reported by Oh In-gyun | Video by Kim Il-won | Produced by SBS Digital News)

TJB
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.