A month has passed since the discovery of a disfigured female body in Incheon, but the investigation is not moving any forward, heightening the possibility of it becoming a cold case.

According to Samsan Police, as of Tuesday 32 days have passed since a cleaning man reported the badly decayed body found inside an abandoned burlap bag near the stream Gulpocheon in Galsan-dong, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon.

All that has been found in the ensuing investigation are the possible cause of the woman’s death and surveillance camera footage of a suspicious man looking toward where the body was found.

The National Forensic Service’s autopsy report showed the victim died of carbon monoxide poisoning. No sleep-inducing substance was found in her circulatory system.

Police also found CCTV footage of a man on a bicycle who stopped on the bridge above where the burlap sack was found. The man stayed for a few seconds to stare down at the spot. He then turned the bicycle around and left the way he came. The recording is dated a month before the body was found.

Police are searching for the mysterious man to find out why he had stopped to look.

The largely decayed body yielded no matching DNA samples nor traceable fingerprints.

The cleaning man reportedly first found the sack on Dec. 2, but left it at his collection depot until Dec. 8, before finally going through the contents.

There is a reward of 10 million won ($8,360) for tips that help police in the case.


By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)