Murderer Who Stripped and Sprinkled Sugar on Deceased Cafe Owner Caught After 12 Years

12-Year Cold Case Caught by Advanced Forensic Techniques

The murderer who stripped the deceased woman and even sprinkled sugar on her body was caught after 12 years.

The true culprit of the long-unsolved "Ulsan Dabang Female Owner Murder Case" was caught due to advances in forensic investigation techniques. The DNA found under the victim’s fingernails was decisive.

According to the Ulsan Police Agency on the 4th, on January 9, 2012, at 9:27 PM, a female owner in her 50s, Ms. A, was found dead in a dabang in Sinjeong-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan.

At the time, Ms. A was found dead near the cash register inside the dabang with signs of strangulation and her clothes stripped off. Sugar was sprinkled on her body.

The police investigated about 500 people, including visitors to the dabang, employment agencies, and nearby shops, but could not find any clues to identify a suspect.

Nine customers confirmed to have visited the dabang that day were placed under suspicion, but all had alibis. The rotating CCTV installed in the dabang did not capture the image of the perpetrator.

A coffee shop in Nam-gu, Ulsan, where the landlady was murdered in 2012. [Image source=Ulsan Police Agency]

The only clue was the DNA sample left under the victim’s fingernails. The police entrusted this sample to the National Forensic Service, but due to limitations in forensic technology at the time, they could not identify the individual.

The case remained unsolved for a long time, and the Ulsan Police Agency’s special task force for major unsolved cases took over and continued the investigation.

This long-unsolved case reached a turning point as forensic investigation techniques advanced.

In 2019, the police collaborated with the National Forensic Service’s “Unsolved Case Cooperative Analysis Office” to re-examine the DNA sample, successfully obtaining personal information from genetic data that had not been identified in 2012.

This DNA was found to match Mr. A, who in January 2013 was sentenced to two years in prison for assaulting a female owner over a tea payment issue in Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan.

The investigation team thoroughly reviewed Mr. A’s past activities, interviewing about 300 people around the time of the incident and conducting inquiries at over 500 locations to trace Mr. A’s whereabouts 12 years ago, piecing together the puzzle of the case.

During the investigation, circumstances confirmed that Mr. A was at the crime scene. Testimonies revealed that before the incident, Mr. A frequently stayed at nearby motels and visited other dabangs, but after the murder occurred, he suddenly stopped visiting.

The police conducted a meticulous investigation by deploying profilers who worked on the “Hwaseong Serial Murders” and the “Incheon Taxi Robbery Murder Case.”

The police tracked Mr. A’s location and arrested the suspect at a motel in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, on December 27 last year. Mr. A initially denied the crime upon arrest but later confessed fully after being presented with irrefutable evidence and persuaded by investigators.

During police questioning, Mr. A stated that he demanded sexual relations from the female owner but committed the crime in a fit of rage after being rejected. This was the moment when the long-unsolved case, which had been in limbo for 12 years, was resolved by the true culprit’s confession.