The case was featured on Tcast E Channel’s February 6 broadcast Courageous detectives 4with the participation of officers from the Namyangju South Police Station together with members of the narcotics unit, the voice phishing task force and the Korea Crime Scene Investigation (KCSI) team, who revealed detailed documents of the investigation.
The incident began when workers cleaning a septic tank at a multifamily residential building discovered several long bones tangled in a pipe. A total of seven human bone fragments were recovered. Based on the size, investigators estimated that the victim was a person of small build, approximately 150 centimeters tall. Since a parked car covered the opening of the septic tank, the possibility of an accidental fall was considered highly unlikely.
Investigators have compiled reports of missing people in the surrounding area over the past decade. Their attention soon turned to the very building where the remains were found. During the first interrogation, a male resident stated that he lives only with his wife and children. However, it was later revealed that his 80-year-old mother had been living with them until five years earlier.
The missing person’s report had not been filed by the woman’s son, but by her nephew. The man’s wife told relatives and neighbors that her mother-in-law had run away from home, even claiming that a large truck had come to take her things. No witnesses, however, could confirm having seen this. DNA testing later confirmed that the skeletal remains belonged to the missing woman, matching her daughter’s DNA.
After separating the couple for questioning, police learned that the husband worked out of town and only came home occasionally. He stated that he believed his wife when she told him that his mother had left voluntarily.
The wife, however, was unable to identify any neighbors who allegedly witnessed the disappearance. His statements became increasingly incoherent. He initially claimed that his mother-in-law was already dead, then admitted that he had pushed her during an argument and found her dead. She ultimately refused to explain the exact cause of death.
She further stated that when she returned home, the house was dirty with urine and feces and that her mother-in-law had insulted her and accused her of infidelity. She claimed that the disposal of the body occurred accidentally when, while carrying the body on a rainy day, she slipped and the lid of the septic tank opened, causing the body to fall inside.
Investigators, however, ascertained that the elderly woman did not have medical records indicating dementia, nor was she in a condition that would explain the alleged behavior described by her daughter-in-law. Despite strong suspicions, the lack of definitive evidence proving the exact murder process prevented prosecutors from charging her with murder.
In the end the daughter-in-law was sentenced to three years in prison for illegal disposal of a corpse, leaving the case as one of the most disturbing examples of family betrayal revealed on the programme.
Sources: Daum
