A South Korean man in his 50s has been apprehended after confessing to the murder of his girlfriend 16 years ago and concealing her body beneath cement on his balcony, authorities reported to AFP on Tuesday.
The incident occurred in October 2008, during a heated argument, when the man struck the woman with a blunt object, leading to her death.
Following the crime, he placed her remains into a large travel bag and concealed the body on his balcony.
He reportedly constructed a makeshift tomb by stacking bricks and pouring a 10-centimeter (four-inch) layer of cement over the bag, effectively hiding the evidence of his crime.
It wasn’t until three years later that the woman was reported missing, largely because she had not maintained contact with her family.
During a missing person investigation in 2011, the man claimed that they had “broken up,” which left police with insufficient evidence to continue the case, and it remained cold.
According to a police spokesperson, the body went undiscovered for so long because it had been strategically fitted into the small balcony space, and the room had been “virtually empty since 2016.” That year, the man was arrested for drug-related offenses, prompting the landlord to utilize the property primarily for storage.
The chilling discovery of the body came last month when a worker investigating water leaks stumbled upon the travel bag. Upon inspection, authorities revealed that the body was “preserved to some extent,” having not fully decomposed into bones, which allowed police to identify the woman through fingerprints.
After being brought in for questioning, the suspect eventually confessed to the murder.
A representative from the Gyeongnam Provincial Police indicated that the investigation is nearing its conclusion and that the man will soon face prosecution.
