The culprit of the long-unsolved ‘Sinjeong-dong serial murders’ identified after 20 years

During the re-investigation, the police noted that sand was commonly found on the bodies of the two victims. Using this as a clue, in 2005, about 230,000 people, including those working at construction sites in the southwestern region and those moving in and out of the Sinjeong-dong area, were narrowed down to potential investigation targets, and the DNA of 1,514 people was collected and compared across the country.

In addition, an international DNA comparison was conducted with the Chinese national database, leaving open the possibility that the suspect was ethnic Korean, but no matching results were obtained.

Accordingly, the police decided to expand the scope beyond survivors to include the dead, and listed 56 deaths possibly related to the incident on the candidate list. In this process, Mr. A (in his 60s at the time of the crime), who worked as a manager at a building in Sinjeong-dong at the time of the incident, emerged as a prime suspect.

However, Mr. A had already died in 2015 and was cremated. As it became impossible to secure DNA through the remains, the police visited 40 hospitals and clinics in the southern Gyeonggi region, focusing on Mr. A’s lifetime, to check for medical samples. Among them, one of the hospitals secured a sample from Mr. A’s life, and after analysis by the National Institute of Forensic Science, it was finally confirmed that it matched the criminal’s DNA.

This is the moment when the truth of an unsolved case that has dragged on for 20 years is revealed.

https://n.news.naver.com/article/654/0000152702