Alleged murderer of taxi driver, ex-girlfriend is charged

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Alleged murderer of taxi driver, ex-girlfriend is charged

Published: 19 Jan. 2023, 16:57

Lee Ki-young points to where he allegedly buried the body of his former girlfriend at a stream in Paju, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 6. [YONHAP]

Lee Ki-young was indicted for murdering and concealing the body of a taxi driver and his former girlfriend on Thursday.

The Uijeongbu District Prosecutor's Office also charged Lee with revenge killing, robbery and falsifying documents.

After a psychological evaluation of Lee, the prosecution concluded there was a high chance that Lee would commit similar crimes in the future due to psychopathic tendencies.

"Lee has egocentric and antisocial personality traits and lacks the ability to control emotions, according to the evaluation," said a spokesperson from the prosecution Thursday.

Prosecutors insisted that the alleged murder of the ex-girlfriend was planned in advance, as it has been confirmed that Lee searched for “pesticides that make you die” and “how to unlock cell phones” just before he allegedly killed her.

Lee is accused of murdering a 50-year-old woman with whom he used to live by hitting her on the head with a blunt object.

After he allegedly killed her, he unlocked the woman’s cell phone and withdrew all her savings from a bank.

Blood at Lee’s home was confirmed to be from the former girlfriend, according to the Ilsan Dongbu Police Precinct Tuesday.

Even after 20 days, police are still looking for her body near a stream in Paju, Gyeonggi. Lee has repeatedly changed his story about where he disposed of the body, first claiming he threw it into a stream and then saying he buried it on its banks.

The search will continue over the Lunar New Year holiday.

The 32-year-old is accused of forging real estate documents to register his former girlfriend’s apartment as his own last November.

Lee is also accused of murdering a taxi driver after smashing into his car, possibly while inebriated. He allegedly told the 60-year-old taxi driver that he would pay him for the damage if he did not call the police, but said he must come to his home in Paju, Gyeonggi, to collect the money, the police said.

Lee claims he and the driver got into an argument at his home, and he killed him and hid his body in a closet.

He was arrested last month and, while being questioned, confessed to killing his ex-girlfriend in August.

Lee is also charged with fraud for allegedly using the credit cards of his two victims and taking out loans in the girlfriend’s name, approximately 70 million won in total, after murdering them.

If convicted, Lee could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]