A suspect in the murder of a man whose dismembered body parts were found in Han River claimed the victim “started it” during an arrest warrant hearing held Sunday afternoon, a day after he had turned himself in to police.

The suspect, a 39-year-old motel employee, said the victim “punched (him), and talked down to (him) first” before the press gathered at the Uijeongbu District Court in Gyeonggi Province, where the warrant hearing was held.

Coming out of the 20-minute hearing, the suspect shouted what he said were his “last words” for the victim: “You will get killed in your next life too if you do that again.” Asked if he felt sorry for the victim, he did not reply.

 
Goyang Police sought the man’s arrest on charges of murder, body dismemberment and disposal after he had turned himself in at around 1 a.m. Saturday.

His surrender came five days after a bare torso without a head or limbs was found floating on the Han River by the police at 9:15 p.m., Aug. 12.

The suspect said during police questioning that he had killed the victim, 32, a guest at the motel in Guro-gu, Seoul, where he worked.

He told police he “killed (the victim) out of impulse” when the victim “refused to pay the motel bill of 40,000 won and talked rudely.” He said he used a spare key to sneak into a room where the victim was sleeping, killed him using a knife and a hammer, and disposed of the dismembered body a few hours past midnight on Aug. 11.

In addition to the torso, police found a severed right arm and a head believed to belong to the deceased man on Friday and Saturday, respectively. DNA testing is underway to confirm whether the body parts belong to the victim, who has been identified via fingerprint analysis.

Police found the motel’s closed-circuit TV footage from the day of the crime and the following days to have been erased, and are conducting a digital forensics investigation to retrieve the data.

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)