Despite Police Protection from Stalking, Woman in Her 50s Murdered in Daegu Apartment

Ex-boyfriend in His 40s Identified as Prime Suspect
Arrested After Fleeing Following Murder Threat Last Month, but Detention Was Denied

A woman in her 50s who had been under police protection due to stalking was murdered in her home in Daegu, prompting police to pursue a prime suspect.

According to Yonhap News Agency on June 10, at approximately 3:30 a.m. that day, a woman in her 50s, referred to as Ms. A, was found by her family in a state of cardiac arrest after being stabbed with a weapon in an apartment in Dalseo District, Daegu.

Yonhap News Agency

Ms. A's daughter, who had been sleeping in the adjacent room, ran out upon hearing her mother's scream and discovered her. Ms. A was transported to the hospital but died about an hour later.

The police believe that the suspect's appearance closely matches that of Ms. A's ex-boyfriend, a man in his 40s referred to as Mr. B, and are pursuing him as the prime suspect. Mr. B is believed to have left the Daegu area, and Daegu police have requested cooperation from police in other jurisdictions.

Mr. B, who had previously dated Ms. A, reportedly threatened her with a weapon during an argument over continuing their relationship around mid-April.

At that time, police arrested Mr. B on charges of making threats and applied for a detention warrant, but the court rejected the request, citing Mr. B's cooperation with the investigation. Investigative authorities stated, "The most regrettable aspect of this case is that the detention warrant for Mr. B, who has a history of fleeing, was denied."

To ensure Ms. A's safety, police provided her with a smartwatch and installed an 'intelligent closed-circuit television (CCTV)' with facial recognition capability in front of her residence. However, these measures ultimately failed to prevent Mr. B from committing an additional crime. The intelligent CCTV system is designed to alert police and notify the victim's smartwatch if an unregistered face is detected. Ms. A had recently voluntarily returned the smartwatch.

It was also reported that Mr. B entered the residence by climbing the gas pipe, and police only became aware of the incident after receiving a report from Ms. A's family.