Man kills ex-wife’s boss, himself

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Man kills ex-wife’s boss, himself

A 45-year-old man stabbed his ex-wife’s boss to death on Monday before jumping to his death after an hours-long confrontation with police on top of a building in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, on Tuesday morning.

The victim, a 57-year-old man, was sent to a nearby hospital, but died. The man, surnamed Park, reportedly said he committed the crime because his ex-wife cheated on him with her boss. His wife denied the accusation.

According to police, Park and his former wife divorced in May 2018. When questioned by police, Park’s wife said she divorced her husband because he constantly beat her. Park was booked by police for domestic violence in January 2018.

After the two divorced, Park visited his ex-wife’s home in April, and her office in May. Feeling threatened, his ex-wife requested protective custody to the police and was given a smart watch that monitors her whereabouts with a GPS sensor and can be used to notify police with a push of a button.

Park stabbed his ex-wife’s boss at around 2:17 p.m. on Monday in the hallway of an apartment complex building where his ex-wife’s office is located. He then fled to the rooftop of the 20-story building and threatened police that he would jump off the building if they tried to arrest him. Park was holding a sharp object, police said.

During his confrontation with police, which lasted 16 hours, Park threw his cellphone at the police during one of their confrontations. The cellphone had a note stuck on it that read that his ex-wife had committed adultery and that he would kill her boss and commit suicide. Park also demanded police let him talk to his ex-wife.

Police said that Park seemed to have calmed down during the night, but as the sun rose on Tuesday, he may have felt pressured by the consequences of his crime. Park reportedly said, “I’m sorry for not keeping my promise” before he jumped. Police suspect that this statement was meant for the negotiator who had been coaxing him to come down since Monday.

Park jumped off the building around 6 a.m. on Tuesday and bumped into a windowsill on the fifth floor and the roof of the entrance to the building before falling onto an air mat that firefighters installed. He was pronounced dead after being sent to a nearby hospital.

BY WE SUNG-WOOK, JUNG MYUNG-SUK [jung.myungsuk@joongang.co.kr]
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