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Daegu court issues arrest warrants for 'suitcase killer' couple

Published: 02 Apr. 2026, 18:38 Updated: 02 Apr. 2026, 19:42

A married couple accused of killing the wife’s mother and abandoning her body in a stream are seen at Daegu District Court in Daegu on April 2. [YONHAP]

A court in Daegu issued arrest warrants on Thursday for a married couple accused of killing the wife’s mother and abandoning her body in a suitcase.

The Daegu District Court issued arrest warrants for the 27-year-old son-in-law, surnamed Cho, on charges of parricide and abandonment of a corpse, and for the 26-year-old daughter, surnamed Choi, on charges of abandoning a corpse, following a pretrial detention hearing, according to legal authorities on Thursday.

“The risk of flight is recognized,” the presiding judge said.

Cho is accused of repeatedly assaulting his 54-year-old mother-in-law starting in February, which led to her death. He is also accused of placing her body in a suitcase and dumping it near the Sincheon stream in Daegu on March 18. His wife is accused of taking part in disposing of the body.

The couple was apprehended on Tuesday, the same day the suitcase containing the body was discovered near Chilseong Bridge on the Sincheon stream in Buk District, Daegu.

Cho told police he assaulted the victim because she made noise at home and did not keep things organized, according to police.

The two suspects will remain in custody at the Daegu Bukbu Police Precinct while the investigation continues. Police are also reviewing whether to fully disclose their identities.

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.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]