Suspect in stalking murder case silent on motive at detention hearing

A suspect in their 60s accused of killing a former partner in their 70s in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, appeared at a detention hearing Saturday.

Seoul Western District Court began the pre-arrest detention hearing for the suspect, identified only as A, at 3 p.m. Saturday.

A is accused of killing a person in their 70s, identified only as B, at A's residence in Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, on Thursday.

Arriving at the court at around 2:26 p.m. for the hearing, A declined to answer reporters' questions, including why the former partner was killed, why A had taken sleeping pills after the crime, whether B had been threatened into coming to the residence, and whether A had waited until an electronic monitoring anklet was removed before acting.

After the killing, A was found unconscious beside B's body by police. A was taken to hospital and discharged Friday.

During a police investigation, A said, "I took sleeping pills after the crime. An argument broke out during a conversation and I killed in anger."

B had been subjected to repeated stalking by A, investigators said.

B filed stalking complaints against A four times in total, beginning in September 2024.

After the third complaint was filed, on July 18, A was arrested on charges of violating a restraining order by going to B's home and choking B.

Police applied for an arrest warrant against A on charges of assault, violation of the Stalking Punishment Act and theft. The prosecution office declined to seek the warrant, citing A's poor health — A had recently undergone surgery for stage-four lung cancer — and the need for additional investigation.

A was subsequently placed under provisional measures including detention at a remand facility and electronic ankle monitoring. The ankle monitoring order expired Oct. 22, and the killing occurred roughly two weeks later.

Police received a missing-person report from B's family at around 6:40 a.m. Friday and, using mobile phone location data and past complaint records, dispatched officers to A's residence, where they found B dead and A unconscious.