Police Seek Clues in Infanticide Case

Four days have passed since the corpses of two infants were found in the refrigerator of a villa in Seorae Village, Seocho-gu, Seoul, but many questions have been left unanswered.

The police think that the birth took place in the villa of the French expatriate Mr. C (age: 40), because bloodstains were found in his house and the towel and vinyl bag wrapped around the babies belonged to Mr. C.

The police received a witness statement that a girl about 14 years old was seen in front of the house on July 13, and is now concentrating on figuring out the identity of this girl.

More and more important questions are piling up, such as when and how the babies were delivered, and who put the baby in the fridge.

Where did the births take place and were they miscarriages?-

The police think that the birth took place in the villa, because according to reagent examinations, the bloodstains were found in the balcony and the bathroom. The fact that the umbilical cords were not neatly cut gives the police another reason to believe that the birth did not take place at a hospital.

The towels wrapped around the infants belonged to Mr. C, and the vinyl bags that contained the infants were kept in the kitchen.

The police assess that the infants died after being borne, because their lungs contained air. They say that the infants were either Caucasian or half-Caucasian.

Are the babies twins?-

Whether the babies are twins, and the race of the babies have not been determined yet.

The infant found in the fifth compartment in the fridge weighed 3.24 kg, and the one found in the fourth compartment weighed 3.63 kg. The police say, that the twins are unusually heavy, if they indeed turn out to be twins. They say they cannot say for sure, until DNA test results come out by next week at the earliest.

The blood found in the towels and the hair samples are being examined at the National Institute of Scientific Investigation.

Who left them in the fridge?-

The police say that Mr. P, a French friend whom Mr. C met in Korea, holds the key to this case. The only one who entered Mr. C’s villa, while he was away, was Mr. P, or a third party who used Mr. P’s security card.

Neighbors testified that they thought Mr. P lived with Mr. C, because he frequented the villa. It cannot be ruled out, that Mr. P either placed the infants in the fridge or helped someone else to, because he knows his way around the villa. The police are having difficulty with the investigation, because Mr. P left for vacation to France on July 21, after Mr. C returned to Korea. According to the records, Mr. P made four five to six-minute visits on July 3, 7, 13, and 17. It is hard to believe that Mr. P brought someone else to give birth to a baby in this limited length of time.

A third party cannot have been left in the villa for days, because movement inside is sensed by the security system after the villa is locked with a security card.

The birth may have been taken before Mr. C went off for vacation or after he returned from it on July 18, but then Mr. C would not have reported to the police.

The identity of the Caucasian girl-

The police received witness statement that a girl about 14 years old was seen in front of the villa on July 13.

This witness testified that, “When I went outside to clean, I spotted a slender girl who was standing outside with a startled look on her face.”

The uncovering of the identity of the girl can propel the investigation forward, because Mr. C has two sons aged 11 and nine, and the villa is in a secluded location.

The police are investigating neighbors, foreign schools and gynecologists in the neighborhood. Marie (age: 17, her real name is altered to protect her privacy), who attends the foreign school, says everyone in the school would know if someone was pregnant, because there are only about 300 students in the elementary, middle, and high school combined.

peacechaos@donga.com