Police rule death by crucifixion was suicide

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Police rule death by crucifixion was suicide

Published: 17 May. 2011, 21:43

The crucifixion case in which former taxi driver Kim Jun-bong, 58, was found dead, nailed to a wooden cross and wearing a crown of thorns in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang, earlier this month, was a self-planned suicide with no outside help, authorities said.

The National Forensic Service reported to the police yesterday after examining Kim’s body that “Kim’s death is most likely to be a suicide without any assistance,” adding that “the cause of Kim’s death was heavy bleeding and suffocation from tying his neck to the cross.”

Upon receiving the results from the NFS, police said yesterday that they closed the investigation, concluding it was a suicide. The police also had earlier investigation results including the autopsy, fingerprint identification on tools such as an electric drill and a saw discovered near the body. Also, a handwriting analysis of a memo containing detailed instructions on the steps to take to nail himself to a cross did not point to any evidence of outside help. The NFS also confirmed that it is possible for an adult male to conduct a crucifixion on himself, after re-enacting the scene by following the instructions written in Kim’s note.

Police investigated a former minister, Ju Hyeon-su, an acquaintance of Kim, but determined that there was no evidence of Ju’s intervention. Kim was described by friends as a religious fanatic.

By Yim Seung-hye [sharon@joongang.co.kr]

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