'Suyu Serial Deaths' Suspect Claims "I Only Tried To Avoid Confrontation"...Police Weigh Murder Charge

Claimed she "gave them drugs because she did not want to fight" ... denies intent to kill

A woman in her 20s who allegedly caused the deaths of men in their 20s by handing them drug-laced drinks at lodging facilities in the Suyu-dong area of Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, has reportedly denied any intent to kill. Police are reviewing whether to charge her with murder.

At a briefing on the morning of the 12th, the Seoul Gangbuk Police Station stated that suspect Ms. A testified that, after a disagreement arose with the men inside the lodging facilities, she gave them drinks in order to put them to sleep.

A, a woman in her 20s suspected of causing the deaths of two men at a motel in Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, appeared at the Seoul Northern District Court on the 12th to undergo a detention warrant hearing. According to police, A is accused of handing a drug-laced drink to B, a man in his 20s, at a motel in Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, on the 9th, resulting in his death. Yonhap News

According to police, Ms. A stated that she tried to defuse the confrontations by handing over a hangover-relief drink containing medication, and that she did not expect it to result in death because she had used medication that had been prescribed to her and that she had been taking herself. She also reportedly claimed that she only learned of the victims' deaths when contacted by the police.

Police have determined that, from December last year until recently, Ms. A gave drinks mixed with psychiatric medication prescribed to her to a total of three men. The first incident occurred on December 14 last year in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. At that time, a man who was in a relationship with Ms. A lost consciousness after drinking the beverage but was taken to a hospital and his life was not in danger.

Subsequently, on January 28 and on February 9 this year, two men who met Ms. A separately at lodging facilities located in Suyu-dong were found dead the following day after drinking the beverages. Police are focusing on the fact that, although Ms. A witnessed the victim lose consciousness in the first incident, she used a larger amount of the medication in the second and third incidents than before, resulting in the victims' deaths.

Police have requested an arrest warrant for Ms. A on charges including causing bodily injury resulting in death and violation of the Narcotics Control Act, and they are actively considering applying the charge of murder with dolus eventualis after further reinforcing the investigation.

Police are currently continuing additional investigative work, including securing related evidence through a search and seizure of Ms. A's residence and conducting profiling analysis. So far, no additional victims other than the three identified have been found.

The court is expected to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Ms. A late in the afternoon of the 12th.