The first autopsy performed on the body that was found Sunday on Gangjinsan mountain in South Jeolla Province gave no clear answers in the case involving a missing 16-year-old girl.
The school girl went missing after she said she was setting out for a part-time job offered by her father’s close friend, telling her friend to keep the job offer a secret.
The missing girl’s mother visited the family friend to inquire about her daughter which caused the man to flee through the back door of his house. He was found dead the next day by the police at a construction site.
The police tracked the unfrequented mountain where the man had driven to and parked his car prior to his death, and found a decaying female body under the bushes near the peak.
Police carry out the body found on Gangjinsan mountain, South Jeolla Province, on Sunday (Yonhap)
The autopsy performed on the body, Monday, gave no indication of struggle or what lead to the cause of death. Due to the advanced level of decomposition, it was impossible to identify the face or the exact height of the discovered body, nor whether there had been scars on the body. There were no fractures.
The police is awaiting DNA investigation results from the National Forensic Service to confirm whether the body is indeed that of the missing girl.
Much mystery surrounds this case. The found body had barely any hair left on its head. Whether that was a natural loss by decomposition or an arbitrary cut is yet to be answered. No traces of hair was found near the site where the body was discovered.
The body did not have any clothes or possessions.
The missing teenage girl had left her house on June 16, after leaving a social media message to her friend that she is to meet her father’s friend for a part-time job.
On the day she disappeared, the family friend, who is a prime suspect of the case, had parked his car just 600 meters from the girl’s house. The car was later seen driving in the direction of Doam-myeon, Gangjin, and when it returned in the afternoon, the man washed the car.
The police are open to the possibility of an accomplice.
By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)