Suspect in teen's killing bought knife day before, police say

A suspect in their 50s arrested on charges of killing a teenage girl in Seoul's Seongbuk-gu had purchased a kitchen knife and charcoal briquettes the day before the killing, police confirmed. After the incident, the suspect also discarded the knife and a damaged mobile phone. Police have applied for an arrest warrant.

According to the Seoul Seongbuk Police Station, the suspect, identified only as A, bought a kitchen knife and charcoal briquettes at two separate household goods stores in Incheon on Tuesday. Investigators confirmed the suspect's movements through closed-circuit television footage. The suspect arrived at a shared lodging at around 5:17 p.m. that day and entered with the teenage victim, identified only as B, who had already been waiting outside.

The suspect left the lodging alone at around 8:30 p.m. and wandered the surrounding area before discarding the knife and a damaged mobile phone. The discarded knife was recovered, but forensic analysis is needed to determine whether it was used in the killing. The lodging had been booked for one night by an acquaintance of the suspect.

Three empty soju bottles were also found at the lodging. It has not been established when the suspect drank — before or after the killing. The suspect was heavily intoxicated when arrested at around 1:40 a.m. Wednesday.

The victim had filed a sex crime complaint in January against the suspect's son, who is in their 20s. The Seoul Nowon Police Station referred the son to prosecutors without detention in March.

The suspect refused to answer questions during questioning Wednesday and again Thursday morning. The circumstances under which the suspect came to meet the victim and the specific motive for the killing remain unknown. Police plan to conduct an autopsy on the victim and deploy a criminal profiler to help establish the precise motive.