Reinvestigation Court of Lee Chun-jae's 8th Case Issues Search Warrant for Two Hair Samples Held by National Archives "Expert Analysis Needed"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The retrial court handling the 8th case of the serial murders by Lee Chun-jae, which sparked controversy over the true culprit, has issued a search warrant for hair samples collected at the crime scene at the time of the incident and decided to proceed with preliminary procedures for forensic examination.

The forensic results of the hair samples stored at the National Archives are expected to be a key to identifying the true culprit and revealing the substantive truth of the case, drawing attention to the upcoming forensic results.

The Criminal Division 12 of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-je) issued a search warrant on the 19th for two hair samples found at the crime scene and stored at the National Archives during the first retrial hearing of the case.

The court stated, "Hair examination was a strong piece of evidence in the previous trial, and considering the claims of the retrial petitioner, the defendant, it was judged necessary to conduct a forensic examination of the hair."

The warrant for the National Archives was previously requested during the re-investigation of Lee Chun-jae’s 8th case by prosecutors and police in December last year, but the court dismissed it considering the statute of limitations had already passed and the retrial process was underway.

This decision by the court to issue the warrant is noteworthy because if the forensic results of the hair samples from the scene are found to match Lee Chun-jae’s hair, it could put an end to the controversy over the true culprit.

The National Forensic Service transferred records related to the 8th case examination to the National Archives around 2017-2018. It is known that the attached materials include two hair samples from the crime scene, taped and preserved for over 30 years.

The prosecution plans to execute the search warrant by collecting hair samples from both the hair stored at the National Archives and from the retrial petitioner Yoon (53), and submit the seized items and seizure reports to the court by the next hearing date.

The court intends to select a forensic institution and request an examination thereafter.

After concluding the first hearing, the court issued the search warrant for the hair samples but postponed the decision on whether to summon Lee Chun-jae as a witness. The next trial is scheduled for the 15th of next month.

This trial was initiated after Yoon (53), who claimed he was wrongfully imprisoned for 20 years as the suspect in the 8th case of a series of serial murders that occurred in the Hwaseong area of Gyeonggi Province in the 1980s, filed for a retrial.

The 8th case refers to the incident on September 16, 1988, when the 13-year-old daughter of Park, residing in Jinan-ri, Taean-eup, Hwaseong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, was found sexually assaulted and dead in her home.

Yoon, who was arrested as the suspect at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial and appealed, denying the charges by claiming "a false confession under police coercion." However, both the second and third trials rejected this and upheld the first trial’s verdict.

Yoon served 20 years and was paroled in 2009. After Lee Chun-jae’s confession to the crimes, Yoon filed for a retrial in November last year, and the court decided to commence the retrial on January 14.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.