Suspect caught in travel bag killing

The key suspect in the case involving the death of a 71-year-old woman found stuffed in a travel bag earlier this month in a parking lot in Incheon was apprehended by police on Monday evening in Euljiro, central Seoul.

The man, 55, surnamed Jeong, was caught around 7 p.m. at Hullyeonwon Park, reportedly while drinking with two homeless men. “Just kill me,” was all he said to the throng of journalists surrounding the police vehicle.

Jeong is accused of murdering an elderly woman surnamed Jeon on Dec. 20 in his home, placing the dead body in a khaki-colored travel bag and abandoning it the next day in a parking lot 150 meters (492 feet) away from the alleged crime scene. The bag was 60 centimeters long, 30 centimeters wide and 40 centimeters high. Police did not specify whether the body was still intact.

The bag was found on Dec. 22 by two teenage passersby who alerted police, according to Incheon Namdong Police Precinct.

The victim was found to have been stabbed five times in the waist and neck, and appeared to have been hit over the head, police officers said.

Police narrowed in on Jeong as a suspect after securing surveillance camera footage from the area. Authorities conducted a search after releasing the suspect’s profile on Thursday.

Lee Seong-hyeong, the head of Incheon Namdong Police Precinct, said in an interim announcement on Tuesday that Jeong testified that he “killed the woman after an argument” while he was drunk, but would not elaborate further.

The claim, however, lacks credibility, Lee said, adding that the police will broaden the probe using profilers.

Jeong told officers that he developed a “close relationship” with the woman, his neighbor, and called her “mom.”

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [selee@joongang.co.kr]