Suspect's Face Revealed After Killing Professor Han and Dumping Body in Trash Bin

Jaejun Seok, a professor at Arizona State University (ASU), murder suspects Javian Ezell (left) and Gabriel Austin. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] The faces of two teenage suspects, a male and a female, accused of murdering Korean-American Professor Chae Joon-seok of Arizona State University (ASU), who went missing last March, have been released. U.S. investigators are reported to believe that the suspects committed the crime during a robbery.

According to U.S. media on the 26th (local time), the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona released photos of 18-year-old male suspects Javian Ezell and Gabriel Austin, who were arrested on charges of killing Professor Chae. Fox News reported that investigators believe the suspects killed Professor Chae during an armed robbery. However, the exact motive is expected to be revealed through further investigation.

It is known that the missing person report for Professor Chae was filed on March 25. Later, on March 30, local police in Shreveport, Louisiana, far from Arizona, found Ezell, Austin, and another individual riding in a vehicle owned by Professor Chae and arrested them.

After interrogation, the police concluded that they had killed Professor Chae and notified the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office determined through investigation that Professor Chae was murdered in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, and his body was disposed of in a large metal trash bin.

Since May 11, the police conducted an extensive search at the Northwest Regional Landfill in Surprise, Arizona, and on the 17th discovered Professor Chae's remains along with other evidence related to the crime.

Fox News, citing local media, reported that an average of 15 agents searched the landfill for about 10 hours a day over 48 days to find Professor Chae's remains. CNN also reported that the search operation involved the Arizona National Guard and local construction companies providing waste disposal equipment and heavy machinery.

Meanwhile, Professor Chae graduated from Korea University in 1998 and earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Michigan. He joined Arizona State University as an assistant professor in 2005 and was serving as the associate chair for research at the Fulton Schools of Engineering at the time of his disappearance.

Arizona State University issued a statement saying, "We are heartbroken to lose Chae Joon-seok, a member of our university community," and "We extend our condolences to Professor Chae's family and friends."

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