Mom likely killed kid and herself in Jeju

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Mom likely killed kid and herself in Jeju

New CCTV footage of the final moments of a mother and her three-year-old girl recently found dead in Jeju suggests that the case was likely a murder-suicide.

The footage revealed on Wednesday shows the mother, surnamed Jang, walking down to the Yeongdam-dong waterfront in the middle of the night on Nov. 2. She is seen carrying her daughter who seems to be wrapped in a blanket. However, the CCTV does not show the two coming up from their waterfront visit.

The whereabouts of the mother still remain unknown, but her daughter’s body was found by police on Sunday floating near the shores of Sineumri beach.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency is treating the case as a murder-suicide, as it is unlikely that Jang would have taken her daughter to the seafront in the middle of the night for sightseeing. Jang also purchased butane gas, lighters and charcoal, which are items commonly used in suicide attempts.

During the investigation, the owner of the motel that Jang was staying in testified to seeing scorch marks on the bathroom wall.

“The scorch marks weren’t there when she checked in. It was also weird how she left the motel without even telling me that she was checking out,” the owner testified.

No traces of rape or strangulation were found on the three-year-old girl’s body. According to her autopsy, the cause of death was drowning and she died on Nov. 2.

According to the police, Jang and her daughter arrived in Jeju at Oct. 31. They immediately took a taxi to their motel. On Nov. 1, Jang came out to buy butane gas, lighters and charcoal. She took her daughter to the Yeongdam-dong waterfront the next day. The news of their disappearance was first brought to the authorities’ attention when Jang’s parents filed a missing person’s report for their daughter and granddaughter on Nov. 1.

The Jeju Maritime Police added an additional 50 people to their search force looking for Jang, including five underwater rescue teams. The search will focus on areas near the Yeongdam-dong waterfront and Sineumri coastal area where Jang’s daughter was found.

BY CHOI CHOONG-GIL [jeong.juwon@joongang.co.kr]
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