Suwon victim violently resisted attacker while awaiting rescue by police


A young woman claimed that a man similar to the killer in the brutal rape and murder in Suwon had attempted to kidnap her last year in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, police officials said Wednesday.

The testimony by the 26 year old is leading investigators to believe that 42-year-old Wu Yuangchun’s vicious rape and murder of a young woman in Suwon was premeditated, and that there may have been other incidents.

“I escaped from someone who looked a lot like Wu while he was trying to kidnap me in July 2010,” said the would-be victim as quoted by police officials.

According to the victim, whose name was undisclosed, the suspect was hiding behind a freight truck before he tried to abduct her, in what police say is a similar pattern to Wu’s behavior in the Suwon case.

However, an official at the National Forensic Service said he believes that Wu has not had much practice in dismembering bodies, citing the condition of the victim’s body as evidence.

The official also added that a case at this level of gruesomeness is rare to see in the country.

On April 1, Wu kidnapped and murdered the victim, a 28-year-old woman identified by her surname Kwak, in Suwon. After being dragged into the suspect’s home, Kwak reported the incident to 112, before she was subdued by Wu. Investigators say the evidence points to the victim violently struggling to ward off her attacker for some time while waiting for help to come after making the distress call. The victim was then murdered and her body dismembered into some 300 pieces which were placed inside 14 black plastic bags.

Even before recent reports, police began to suspect that Wu’s crime was premeditated despite his denials.

Police have been analyzing surveillance footage taken from a security camera 50 meters from the scene where the suspect first came into contact with the victim.

The images show Wu hiding behind a utility pole before shoving the victim and dragging her away. Wu told the police in his testimony that he dragged the victim to his home after an argument escalated when they bumped each other in the street.

The incident has also brought outpourings of public criticism onto the police for their slow response to the emergency call and their tardy initial search.

The victim’s remains were found more than 13 hours after the distress call. According to Wu’s testimony, he murdered the victim more than six hours after the victim first called 112.

After partially revealing telephone records, there has been public outcry over the handling of the 112 call. The operator was found to have focused on whether Kwak had been raped and by whom, and failed to secure the location of the crime. The agent also reportedly left important information out when referring the case to the police, including the fact that the crime was taking place indoors and near an elementary school. Police arriving on the scene had initially searched neighboring playgrounds and yards.

Once the full record was disclosed, it was found that the victim had stayed on the line for more than six minutes. The victim’s pleas could be heard, while an officer said the call appeared to be about domestic abuse. Police initially reported that Wu’s voice was not captured on the tape, which was later found to be false. Members of Kwak’s family also reported that police on scene acted inappropriately with two officers sleeping in a police vehicle while the search took place.

By Robert Lee (robert@heraldcorp.com)