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Murder-suicide at Paju hotel likely premeditated, police say

Published: 12 Apr. 2024, 16:39

KIM JI-YE
[email protected]

An image of Paju Police Station, a part of the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency, in Gyeonggi. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Police said Friday that they believe a suspected murder-suicide at a residential hotel in Paju, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday was premeditated.

Two men died after they jumped from the terrace of their hotel room on Wednesday. Police later discovered the bodies of two women in the room.

Murder-suicide suspected after two women, two men found dead at Paju hotel

The two women were discovered with their wrists bound by cable ties and mouths covered with duct tape.

Police believe the two women were strangled with cable ties, based on the National Forensic Service (NFS)’s autopsy on Thursday.

The two men are believed to have killed the women and then taken their own lives.

According to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency Friday, the two men had been staying at the hotel since Monday and frequently left the room.

Police said surveillance footage showed the pair bringing cable ties to their room on Tuesday.

The authorities say the two men likely prepared murder supplies ahead of time as more cable ties and duct tape were found in the room than indicated in the surveillance footage.

Two kitchen knives were also found at the scene.

The two knives were originally in the room’s kitchen, but one was found near a bed, police said.

Police found a cut 3 centimeters (1.18 inches) deep and 9 centimeters long on one of the women’s arms. However, no bloodstains were discovered at the scene, suggesting the cut was made post-mortem.

Police have asked the NFS to conduct an in-depth investigation of the knives.

Police also confirmed that one of the women was a friend of one of the two men based on an analysis of the man's phone.

The other woman had no connection with the men before contacting them after seeing a job advertisement posted by one of the men on Telegram.

Police said that after the woman contacted the man about the job advertisement, he told the other man to meet him at the hotel by 10 p.m. Monday.

Police added that the job advertisement was just a regular part-time job offer unconnected to sex trafficking.

The men were reportedly friends with no specific occupation, according to the police.

Additionally, no circumstantial evidence of illegal drug usage or sexual assault was found as of Friday morning.

However, the police have yet to find the two women’s phones and are searching for them as the victims were holding their phones when entering the room based on surveillance footage.

If you or someone you know is feeling emotionally distressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, LifeLine Korea can be contacted at 1588-9191 or the Crisis Counseling Center at 1577-0199. The Seoul Global Center offers English-language counseling, contact 02-2075-4180 (+1) to arrange a session. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]