A murderer who deceived police by claiming that he accidentally killed a debtor who had not paid a large debt has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a prosecutor's investigation revealed a lie.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Criminal Division 3 (Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kwon Hyun-yu) announced today (39th) that it has found that Choi Mo (17), a loan shark who was detained on suspicion of murder with accidental motives, committed the crime premeditatedly after conducting a supplementary investigation.

According to prosecutors, Choi killed the victim, Kim Mo, 9, with a blunt weapon in an underground parking lot in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Sept. 29 last year.

Choi turned himself in at the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul two hours after the crime.

Police sent the case to the prosecutor's office with the results of an investigation that Choi accidentally killed the victim, Kim, who was a debtor, after she failed to pay a debt of 37.2 billion won.

Prosecutors, who took over the case in October last year, seized Choi's office and conducted a supplementary investigation to find 27,10 audio recordings on his mobile phone, as well as five years of KakaoTalk conversations and transactions on 2 accounts.

At that time, we also conducted a field check on the roof of the office building where Choi allegedly attempted suicide after the accidental crime.

The results of the prosecutor's investigation were the exact opposite of those of the police.

On the contrary, it was discovered that Mr. Choi owed the victim, Mr. Kim, 5.23 billion won, and when it became difficult for him to afford it, he committed the crime premeditatedly.

The victim was not a debtor, but a creditor.

In addition, the prosecution found Choi's statement not credible because the roof of the office building was crowded and the fence was high, making it unsuitable for attempting suicide.

Prosecutors first charged Choi with murder on Oct. 28 last year, when his detention was about to expire, and then changed the indictment from murder to robbery-murder on Feb. 5 this year, based on what a supplementary investigation revealed.

In changing the indictment, Choi was charged with a separate fraud charge of defrauding the victim's brother of 10 million won on three occasions between April 26 and September last year, claiming to pay high interest.

On the 2th of this month, the court found Choi guilty of robbery, murder and fraud and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a probation order.

(Photo=Yonhap News)