NFS Autopsy Presumes Death Caused by Fire
Joint On-Site Inspection Conducted... Details of the Incident Under Investigation
The police are investigating the family members of the arson suspect in the Bongcheon-dong apartment fire in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, which resulted in seven casualties.
According to the police on the 22nd, the Gwanak Police Station has been questioning the suspect A's relatives and neighbors as witnesses since the previous day. The police also secured a mobile phone believed to belong to A at the scene of the fire and requested digital forensics from the National Forensic Service (NFS). They plan to check for search records related to arson through this process. The police have also requested forensic analysis from the NFS on the spraying tool used by A in the crime.
The police explained, "We plan to confirm the purchase route of the tool used in the crime by interviewing related parties and tracking A's movements."
On the same day, the police, together with the fire authorities, completed a joint inspection of the fire scene that lasted for about three hours from 11 a.m. Based on this, they intend to clarify the specific circumstances of the incident.
Previously, at around 8:17 a.m. the previous day, a fire broke out in an apartment in Bongcheon-dong, resulting in the death of A and injuries to six others. Two women in their 70s and 80s suffered serious injuries after falling from a window while trying to escape the flames and are being treated at the hospital. A, who had lived there until the end of last year, was reportedly in conflict with neighbors over noise between floors. On the morning of the 22nd, the NFS conducted an autopsy on A's body and gave a verbal opinion to the police, stating that the cause of death was presumed to be the fire.
The prime suspect in the Bongcheon-dong apartment arson is seen on the 21st in front of a villa in Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, setting fire using a tool presumed to be a pesticide sprayer before igniting the apartment. Photo by Yonhap News
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