Police investigators examine the home where a couple were found dead with their hands and feet bound in Naju, Jeonnam-Gwangju, on Oct. 7.HWANG HEE-GYU
NAJU, Jeonnam-Gwangju — Police have arrested a suspect in the killing of a couple who were found dead in their home with their hands and feet bound.
The Naju Police Station arrested the suspect, an acquaintance of the couple, on probable cause on suspicion of murder at the entrance of an apartment building in Muan County, Jeonnam-Gwangju, on Wednesday afternoon.
A relative of the couple who lives about 90 meters (295 feet) away called the police at 7:49 p.m. Tuesday, saying the couple could not be reached and that the husband's 1-ton truck was gone from near their house in Wanggok-myeon.
Officers found the couple dead inside, their hands and feet tied. The husband, found in the living room, had been stabbed multiple times. The wife was found suffocated in the primary bedroom. The weapon has not been found.
The front gate and the front door were open, but the inner door between the entryway and the rest of the house was locked. Police believe the couple was most likely killed between 9:28 p.m. and 11:57 p.m. on Monday.
Security camera footage from near the house led police to the suspect. The footage shows the suspect arriving by bicycle at around 9:28 p.m. on Monday and leaving in the husband's truck at around 11:57 p.m.
The husband's truck, which police say the suspect fled in after the killings, in Naju, Jeonnam-Gwangju, on Oct. 7.HWANG HEE-GYU
The suspect drove the truck through Gwangju and back to Naju, left it in bushes near Juksan Weir on the Yeongsan River and rode off on the bicycle, which had been loaded in the truck bed, police said. The bicycle was later found abandoned about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the truck.
Police found that the suspect had then left by car from a bus stop near where the bicycle was found. They tracked the car and made the arrest at an apartment complex in Muan County.
The suspect reportedly took the couple's bankbooks after the killings and withdrew 6 million won ($4,480) from an ATM.
"I did it because I needed the money," the suspect told police in substance shortly after being arrested.
The police believe the crime was driven by financial problems and have formed a dedicated investigation team from four detective units to establish exactly what happened. They also plan to provide psychological counseling and other support to the victims' family.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
