In 'Brave Detectives 4', the process of uncovering a mysterious murder case through relentless investigation was depicted.
In the 12th episode of T-Cast E Channel's 'Brave Detectives 4' (directed by Lee Ji-sun), Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Medical Investigation Team Leader, Inspector Kang Yoon-seok, former KCSI Commissioner Yoon Wae-chul, and Inspector Kim Jin-soo appeared to share their investigative diary.
The first case began when a customer who had taken out a 3.3 billion won life insurance policy died two months later, following a tip-off from an insurance investigator who found it suspicious. The deceased was a 44-year-old woman who had already received 100 million won from another insurance company. Her older sister reported that her younger sister was unconscious. The cause of death was a brain hemorrhage, and there were no signs of foul play, so the funeral proceeded without an autopsy. However, the appearance of the deceased did not match the information the investigation team had, and the situation took an unexpected turn. The fact that the funeral procedures were carried out swiftly without a ceremony added to the suspicion.
According to the funeral director, three people were present from the time of the body preparation to the cremation. They included the sister and a couple who appeared to be in their 40s, but they did not seem to be family. It was suspected to be an incident aimed at collecting insurance money. The younger sister and her sister, along with the two men, were placed on the suspect list for investigation. The younger sister, Lim Jeong-hee (pseudonym), was a shaman who had previously worked in a real estate scheme. The investigation team found it suspicious that the sister used a payphone instead of her mobile phone. It turned out that she had called Lim Jeong-hee using someone else's name.
Lim Jeong-hee, who was urgently arrested, denied knowing anything about it, but it was revealed that she had sought out targets for the crime through two acquaintances. The investigation team confirmed through mobile phone base stations that Lim Jeong-hee had been in an area where many homeless people were located just before the death was reported. They suspected that she might have targeted a homeless person with no connections, but it was insufficient to identify anyone based solely on appearance without a photo. Lim Jeong-hee continued to refuse to disclose the identity of the body and denied the murder charges. Most shockingly, there were a total of eight suspects involved in the case, including the main perpetrator Lim Jeong-hee, her sister, and even the coroner who examined the body. Lim Jeong-hee was sentenced to seven years in prison, her sister to three years, and the insurance planner to two years.
Next, a case from the scientific investigation team was introduced. The building manager of a mixed-use building consisting of bars, karaoke rooms, and one-room apartments reported that there was a burning smell but could not identify where it was coming from. When they forcibly opened the door to a unit on the third floor that did not respond, they found it filled with smoke. On a loft mattress, blankets and clothes were piled up, along with a partially burned cardboard box. A lighter and a can of oil were also discovered nearby. When they cleared the piled items, a body was found underneath. Only part of it had burned, and the fire had naturally extinguished.
The detectives instinctively sensed it was a serious crime. The victim's neck and entire face were wrapped in transparent tape, and upon removing it, it was difficult to distinguish whether the body was male or female due to decomposition. The victim was a woman in her late 30s who lived in that one-room apartment. Her lower body was stripped of underwear, and there were dozens of stab wounds on the body. It appeared that the perpetrator returned to the apartment after killing the victim to commit arson.
The investigation team checked the time the flames erupted using CCTV from a building across from the victim's apartment and looked for someone using the stairs on the karaoke room's CCTV around that time. They discovered a person wearing a gray hoodie and tracked his whereabouts. Additionally, through inquiries, they learned that a friend of the victim had been troubled because she had not repaid a debt. The victim had even mentioned that she would confront this friend about the money a week before the fire was reported. The person who borrowed the money was a woman of the same age, who admitted to borrowing 2 million won from the victim and meeting her, but later claimed they ordered late-night snacks together at home.
However, the team chasing the suspect in the gray hoodie found that the address they ultimately confirmed matched the starting point discovered by the reverse tracking team. Among the residents of that building, the only person connected to the victim was the friend who borrowed 2 million won. After being arrested, the perpetrator, who continued to make excuses by saying, "I am also a victim," infuriated investigators by claiming he killed the victim because she slandered him for not being able to repay the money. A profiler suspected that the perpetrator exhibited antisocial personality disorder and histrionic disorder based on his attitude, behavior, and verbal expressions. He ultimately received a life sentence.
Meanwhile, 'Brave Detectives 4' airs every Friday night at 9:50 PM and is available on major OTT platforms such as Netflix, Tving, and Wavve. You can also find vivid news and videos about the program on E Channel's official YouTube and Instagram.
