[Comprehensive] 'Three Women Murder' Kim Taehyun Faces Additional Stalking Charges... Prosecutors to Transfer Case Today (9th)

Additional Charges of Continuous Harassment and Information and Communications Network Applied
Transferred to Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office on 5 Charges in Total
Elder Daughter of Victimized Mother and Daughter Has Been Suffering Continuous Stalking Since January

Suspect Kim Taehyun (25) in the 'Nowon Three Mothers Murder Case' leaving a PC room in Nowon-gu, Seoul on the day of the incident, the 23rd of last month. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] It has been reported that two additional charges, including stalking, have been applied to the suspect Kim Taehyun (25), who is accused of breaking into an apartment in Nowon-gu, Seoul, and murdering a mother and her two daughters. Kim Taehyun is known to have met the eldest daughter of the victims through an online game and harassed her for several months while demanding a relationship.

According to multiple media reports on the 8th, Kim Taehyun has been additionally booked on two charges: violation of the Minor Offenses Act (continuous harassment) and violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (information and communications network infringement). This means that Kim Taehyun’s 'stalking crime' charge has been recognized.

Kim Taehyun is accused of disguising himself as a delivery worker and breaking into an apartment in Nowon-gu on the afternoon of the 23rd of last month, where he murdered three family members: A (59), B (24), and C (22), who are mother and daughters.

He is accused of first killing the second daughter, C, then killing the mother, A, who returned home about five hours later, followed by the eldest daughter, B.

It is reported that Kim Taehyun met B while playing an online game, and after B rejected his request for a relationship, he committed these crimes.

The apartment site in Nowon-gu where the mother and her three daughters were murdered on the 26th of last month. / Photo by Yonhap News TV capture

During the commission of the crime, Kim Taehyun is said to have continuously stalked B. According to testimonies from B’s acquaintances, Kim Taehyun had been habitually stalking B since January. As a result, B reportedly changed her phone number and deliberately took longer routes home to avoid him.

Furthermore, even after committing the crime on the 23rd of last month, Kim Taehyun remained at the scene, exhibiting bizarre behavior such as eating meals and drinking alcohol, and lying next to the bodies. He also showed calculated attempts to destroy evidence by deleting messenger messages on his phone before attempting self-harm.

Police investigations revealed that Kim Taehyun has a prior record of two sexual offenses. Just 13 days before the crime, on the 10th of last month, he was fined for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (obscenity using communication media). He was accused of recording his own moans on his phone and sending the files multiple times to a female student.

Additionally, in November 2019, he was prosecuted for secretly peeping into a women's restroom (violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes) and was fined 2 million won in April last year.

Suspect Kim Tae-hyun, accused of murdering three women in an apartment in Nowon-gu, Seoul, is attending a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) held at the Seoul Northern District Court in Dobong-gu on the afternoon of the 4th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Kim Taehyun was found severely injured after attempting self-harm at the crime scene on the 25th of last month. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and is currently under police investigation.

The police have deployed profilers to analyze Kim Taehyun’s personality and psychological state before and after the crime. They also plan to assess whether he has psychopathic tendencies through interviews.

Although a public defender was appointed for Kim Taehyun, it is reported that he declined the presence of a lawyer and was interrogated alone.

Meanwhile, the police will transfer Kim Taehyun to the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office on the 9th. In addition to the existing murder charges, he faces a total of five charges including theft, trespassing, violation of the Minor Offenses Act, and violation of the Information and Communications Network Act.