The Zodiac Killer

In my third chapter, you will be able to find information about the Korean serial killer, Lee Chun-jae, also known as the Korean Zodiac Killer.

Born in South Korea, on 31 January 1963, he served a life sentence for murder and rape (more than 30 confessed rapes and attempted rapes), eligible for parole after 20 years (allowed to bail after 20 years served). Despite the DNA evidence and his confession to the murders in 2019, he could not be prosecuted for them, because the state of limitations (prescriptive period, law that set a limit to the time in which legal proceedings may be initiated) had expired.

He was apprehended (arrested) on January 18, 1994 and imprisoned at Busan Prison.

Active in Taean-eup, now called Hwaseong (a city in Gyeonggi) and surrounding areas, between February 8, 1986 and January 13, 1994 (almost 8 years); he sexually assaulted women and young girls that he killed later on.

His victims were between 8 and 71 years old, his last victim being his sister in law. Only found information about 9/15 victims, so here are some remarks that have been noticed on several victims:

• All nine victims have been strangled, some by hand, one by an umbrella.

• Four victims were gagged, three of them with their socks and the 4th one with her bra.

• On eight of the victims, was found semen, which might indicate sexual abuse was prior to their death.

• Four victims have been found with their hands tied and one with her feet tied as well.

Time for a small plot twist:

The person who was actually sentenced to life in prison and served 20 years, wasn’t Lee Chun-jae, but an innocent man named Yoon Sung-yeo. Apparently he was tortured by the police into giving a false confession. His appeal (request) was denied and he had to serve 19.5 years in jail before being released on parole (on bail) in 2009.

Yoon filled for a re-trial on November 13, 2019, following news reports that Lee had confessed to all 10 murders. Two days later, it was announced that the police had reached a provisional (temporary) conclusion that Lee Chun-jae was responsible for the murder for which Yoon was wrongful convicted. The police said Lee’s confession in the eight murder ‘elaborately and coherently’ (meticulously/in detail and consistently) described both the victim and the scene. This confession made people suspicious that police had charged an innocent man.

In December 2019, the Gyeonggi South Provincial Police Agency booked and charged eight of the original investigators with abuse of power, illegal detention for allegedly (supposedly) physically abusing Yoon when he was a suspect, forcing him into giving a false testimony and falsifying investigative documents.

The court accepted Yoon’s plea (request) for re-trial in January 2020. The final court hearing was held on November 2, 2020, where Lee Chun-jae stood as a witness confessing to the murder and describing the scene. Yoon Sung-yeo was acquitted of murder on 17 December 2020.

That was it for the third chapter; hope you enjoyed it. From now on, I will try to write at least one chapter month. Also, though I am not the kind of person to do shout outs, I want to thank @kaname kuran for telling me about this serial killer.

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