S Korean serial killer confesses to 14 murders, 30 rapes after 30 years
SOUTH Korean police announced on Wednesday that a 56-year-old man has confessed to being a serial killer 30 years ago and admitted responsibility for more unsolved crimes.
Lee Chun-jae confessed to nine rape-murders that took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi province, as well as five additional murders and around 30 rapes and attempted rapes, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
Three of the five additional murders appear to have occurred around the same years in Hwaseong, where he resided, police said.
Lee moved to Cheongju, North Chungcheong province, in 1993, where he admitted to killing two more people before being sentenced to life in prison in 1995 for the rape and murder of his 19-year-old sisterin-law the year before.
His admission came during nine rounds of questioning by profilers after police officially announced him as the prime suspect in the high-profile cold case on September 19. Police said his DNA match in three of the rape-murders led to the identification.
A team of veteran profilers questioned Lee in Busan Prison for the ninth time on Tuesday.
While he denied his involvement in the crimes in the first five rounds of questioning, profilers worked on building a rapport with the suspect over the two-week period and got him to confess, police said.
Police said Lee changed his position after forensic tests last week revealed his DNA matched that found in another rape-murder, a fourth confirmation to date. Police said they have requested the National Forensic Service for a test of DNA samples found in the remaining crimes.
Despite his admission of guilt, police said they were still verifying his claims due to certain irregularities in his account.
Ban Ki-soo, superintendent general of Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, said the verification is necessary as Lee’s testimonies were based on his memory, “which may have been warped over time”.
Police declined to specify the additional crimes that Lee admitted to having committed. On September 25, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency’s cold case team said they were looking into the possibility that Lee may be connected to other unsolved crimes that occurred in Hwaseong from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
Although the statute of limitations expired in 2004, authorities said they did not close the case in which at least nine girls and women – ranging in age from 13 to 71 – were brutally raped and killed.
Police said they would review the possibility of changing Lee’s status from suspect to accused, as they inch closer to cracking the case after the confession.