Body parts likely related in mutilation murder case

The Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency announced that its officers on Tuesday had come across two mutilated hands and two feet, evidence that is believed to be linked to the discovery on Sunday of a presumably female torso at the Sihwa Seawall in Siheung, Gyeonggi.

Authorities have identified the victim as a 42-year-old Korean-Chinese woman, surnamed Han, who resided in Ansan, Gyeonggi, and whose husband is currently a primary suspect.

“After a policeman searching the area found a hand in a plastic bag, we found another hand and two feet nearby,” said Park Seong-ju, who heads the police agency’s criminal department. “The body parts are being analyzed by a forensic service team to see if they match the victim.”

The findings come a day after investigators discovered a decapitated head that is also thought to be from the same case.

Police explained that the head had been found in another area by the seawall about 3 kilometers, or nearly 2 miles, from where the torso was first found.

“The head has not been damaged much, so the victim’s acquaintances may be able to recognize her,” an officer said. “We found after receiving reports from locals saying that they had seen an object that looked like a wig. The decapitated head was buried in the mud and rocks.”

Authorities also collected two trash bags near the scene and have detected Han’s DNA to be present in one of them. They assume the remains were once packed in the bags, though were somehow scattered later on. The victim is assessed to have been murdered within a week before the torso was found.

Police have also distributed leaflets detailing her personal information.

The victim had two scars that appear to have been from surgery - one for an apparent appendectomy on the abdomen and another that stretches from the back to the upper chest, which is thought to be the result of an operation during infancy or childhood. The leaflets also said the victim’s blood type was O.

Investigators are currently going through CCTV footage from the area and looking for other possible suspects.

They have asked anyone with information to call in a report, specifically if anyone has information about a person or persons who recently bought a large amount of disinfectants - often used to clean or cover up obvious odors - or noticed a stench in the area.

BY KIM BONG-MOON [kim.bongmoon@joongang.co.kr]