Today I’m going to share with you a tragic case that took place in Soul South Korea the main character of this story is Choy sui a 31-year-old professional dentist her husband Lee doang was a 33-year-old surgeon the couple got married in 1989 after their marriage they opened a dental clinic together Choy sui began working at the family’s dental practice and thanks to its success the couple enjoyed a prosperous and comfortable life in 1993 the couple welcomed a baby girl whom they named Lee Hua young the family
of three lived in apartment 708 on the 7th floor of a building in bulang dong Soul let me describe their apartment layout for you this is the entrance Beyond it is a foyer to the left of the hallway is a utility room followed by the kitchen and next to the kitchen is the living room on the right side of the hallway is the second bedroom which was usually un occupied nearby is the bathroom and next to it is the master bedroom where the couple and their daughter would sleep at night by 1995 the couple had been married for 6 years
and their daughter was 2 years old at that time Le doang was in the process of securing financing to build a private cosmetic surgery hospital and Was preparing for its grand opening their family’s life and careers could be described as promising with a bright future ahead however an unexpected tragedy suddenly struck on Monday June 12th 1995 a plume of white smoke was seen rising from a residential building in bul Guang dong a building security guard noticed the smoke and rushed upstairs to investigate he discovered that it was
coming from apartment 708 on the 7th floor when the guard reached the door he knocked repeatedly but no one answered and the door was locked from the inside it appeared that a fire had broken out inside the apartment recognizing the urgency of the situation the guard immediately called the fire department 10 minutes after receiving the call Firefighters arrived on the scene upon entering apartment 708 they found a fierce Blaze raging in the master bedroom the middle section of the Wardrobe was on fire and the clothes
inside had been burned the bed sheets near the Wardrobe were also scorched and the wallpaper in the bedroom had been burned and peeled off the firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and brought it under control they then proceeded to inspect other parts of the apartment for additional hazards one firefighter went into the bathroom to assess the situation there he made a horrifying Discovery the bathtub was filled with water and inside were the bodies of a woman and a young girl both deceased confronted with this tragic scene the
firefighters immediately contacted the police upon receiving the report the police quickly dispatched officers to the scene they cordoned off the entire area and began a thorough investigation the woman who passed away in the bathroom was Choy sui 31 years old and the other victim was her 2-year-old daughter Choy sui was found face down in a water-filled bathtub her upper body unclothed except for underwear that had been pulled down to her knees she had minor scratches on her neck and arms a clear ligature Mark
around her neck and she was wearing contact lenses at the time her daughter was found lying face up in the bathtub wearing a short sleeved shirt on her upper body and a diaper on her lower body the child also displayed clear signs of strangulation but had no other visible injuries the autopsy revealed that Choy sui was not sexually assaulted and that both victims had died from asphixiation this was evidently a case of homicide the police conducted a thorough investigation of the crime scene they discovered several household items and
unwashed dishes in the kitchen sink a baby bottle on the dining table and a pair of Choy sui’s glasses on the bathroom vanity her wallet was found in the master bedroom and contained 518,000 one the apartment door was locked and there were no signs of forced entry or damage to the doors or Windows no evidence of a struggle was found and apart from the family’s fingerprints no other fingerprints or murder weapons were discovered in apartment 708 there were two possible routes to reach apartment 708 from outside the
building the first route involved passing through the security office the police questioned the security guard on duty that day who stated that no strangers had entered the building the second route was via the emergency exit on the first floor but this route was blocked by Steel mesh and securely locked making entry impossible from the outside while the police were investigating Choy sui’s husband Lee doang returned home upon learning about the murder of his wife and daughter he was devastated after calming down the police questioned
him about his whereabouts that day he explained today was the official grand opening of my private hospital after having breakfast at 7:00 a.m. I left for the hospital alone my wife and daughter had breakfast with me and everything was fine when I left I arrived at the hospital at 8:00 a.m. for the opening ceremony where many people were present and can testify to my whereabouts let’s take a look at the map of the area here is the location of the apartment and here is the hospital it takes approximately 1 hour to travel
between the two locations according to the statement of the apartment security guard he confirmed seeing Lee do hang leaving the apartment at 700 a.m. which aligns with the husband’s account there was no cash or other valuables missing from the crime scene and there were no signs of forced entry the police speculated that the two victims were killed in the master bedroom after committing the murders the perpetrator intentionally removed some of Choy sui’s clothing to Stage the scene as a sexual assault and homicide
an assessment of the crime scene suggested this was likely a case of personal Revenge the police believed the perpetrator might have had a close relationship with Choy sui and her daughter to avoid identification the killer set a fire to destroy evidence the police then began investigating the victim’s personal relationships one of Choy sui’s colleagues revealed that she had an affair with a man who appeared to be an interior designer the police located this man but he had not visited the apartment during the time of the
crime and provided a solid Alibi as a result he was temporarily excluded from the list of suspects however for unknown reasons he later left South Korea and disappeared without a trace the police discovered a diary belonging to Choy sui in which she wrote I thought about him while lying in bed with my husband the phrase him clearly referred to her interior designer lover based on this evidence the police suspected that Choy sui’s husband Lee doen might have discovered his wife’s Affair and in a fit of rage killed both her and their daughter Le
doang indeed had a strong motive for the crime but whether he committed it depended on the victim’s estimated time of death the forensic doctors conducted autopsies at 11:30 a.m. on the day of the incident both victims bodies displayed lior mortise after death blood ceases to circulate and settles in the lower parts of the body due to gravity this causes the blood vessels in the lower areas to become engorged while those in the upper areas remain empty for example if liver mortise is concentrated on the backs of the thighs
and calves it suggests the person was seated for a long time after death if the marks are distributed evenly across the back and buttocks it indicates the person was lying down after death the development of Laver mortise occurs in three stages the accumulation phase the diffusion phase and the fixation phase accumulation typically begins 2 to 4 hours after death but can start as early as 30 minutes or as late as 6 to 8 hours postmortem during this phase pressing on the marks will cause the blood to momentarily move away from the pressure
point temporarily lightening the area once once the pressure is released the blood returns and the marks reappear the diffusion phase generally occurs around 12 hours after death though it can accelerate occurring within 8 to 10 hours at this stage pressing on the marks may only slightly lighten them and Shifting the body’s Position will not easily redistribute the liver mortise usually liver mortise stabilizes within 4 to 12 hours postmortem new marks may form in the lower parts of the body leing leading to
fixed patterns starting in the diffusion phase hemoglobin pigment begins seeping into the tissues of the body by the second day after death this process becomes more pronounced the hemoglobin not only enters tissue spaces but also penetrates individual cells creating discoloration known as postmortem staining when Choy sui was found she was lying face down in the bathtub with prominent liver mortise on the front of her body including scratches on her right thigh based on these observations the time of death was estimated to be 6 to 8 hours
before the autopsy using this timeline the victims were believed to have died early in the morning on the day of the incident between 3:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. after death a human body gradually experiences rigor mortise a condition where the muscles become stiff slightly contract and Joints lock into place for example the mouth becomes difficult to open and limbs can not be bent this process typically begins within 3 to 4 hours after death primarily affecting areas from the head to the wrists and ankles rigor mortise
then starts to dissipate between 24 and 48 hours after death as the body becomes Supple again in the case of Choy sui her finger joints were stiff based on the level of rigor mortise the estimated time of death was 6 to 12 hours prior placing it between 11:30 p.m. on June 11th and 5:30 a.m.
on June P during the autopsy the forensic team found approximately 480 G of undigested stomach contents including seaweed soup rice grains and cabbage which had been consumed the previous evening based on the digestion rate the time of death was estimated to be between 11:30 p.m. and 4: a.m. using these three forensic indicators the medical examiner concluded that Choy sui likely died before 7:00 a.m.
on the day of the incident at that time her husband was still at home and would have had the opportunity to commit the crime the police immediately brought the husband Lee doang to the station for questioning he claimed he was unaware of his wife’s Affair a month before the incident he had met the interior designer who was his wife’s lover at the time he believed the man was merely a friend of his wife and did not pay much attention to their relationship during their investigation the the police searched Leo hang’s belongings and found a slip of paper in
the pocket of his sweatpants the note contained the names of several movies and video rental stores one of the movies listed was single white female a 1992 American Psychological Thriller the film’s plot involved a woman who murdered a man and placed his body in a bathtub a detail eerily similar to the current case when questioned Le do hang stated that he had never watched the movie and was unaware of it its content the police visited the video rental store listed on the slip of paper according to the store’s rental records
provided by the owner Lee doang had rented single white female on February 28th 1994 more than a year before the incident and returned it 5 days later further investigation revealed that he frequently rented videos the police extended their search to other nearby rental stores uncovering a new lead 8 months after his initial rental outs single white female Lee do hang rented another movie from a different store this time he kept the film for an unusually long period before returning it the police suspected that he might have rented these films to
study crime methods depicted in them although Lee doang insisted he had never watched the movie The Truth could be entirely different he might not only have watched it but also rewatched it multiple times the police launched an investigation into Lee do hang’s personal relationships surprisingly they discovered that he had a contentious relationship with his mother-in-law and their interactions were reportedly very strained Lee Doh was known to be introverted and rarely retaliated when insulted the police theorized that he
may have suppressed his anger for a long time on his right arm three crescent-shaped marks were found the police speculated that on the night of the murder Leo hang strangled Choy sui from behind and during during her struggle she grabbed his right arm leaving the nail marks Le doang firmly denied the accusation he admitted that his relationship with his mother-in-law was not great and that they had argued multiple times but he insisted the issues were not serious he explained that two weeks before the incident his family had taken
a trip to Guam regarding the marks on his arm he claimed they appeared after his wife and daughter’s deaths when he returned home the police prevented him from entering to preserve the crime scene overcome with emotion he repeatedly hit the wall and tightly gripped his right arm with his left hand which according to him caused the nail marks the police asked Lee doang what he had eaten on the morning of the incident he said bean sprout soup however the forensic examination found no trace of bean sprouts in Choy sui’s stomach to
prove his innocence Lee doang voluntarily agreed to take a polygraph test which the police accepted however psychological experts concluded that he failed the polygraph test 4 days after the incident on June 16th 1995 the police returned to the crime scene to search for additional evidence they found a curtain from the balcony lying on the ground nearby there was a curtain cord divided into five sections with each section less than 8 in apart the cord was sent to a lab for analysis where it was discovered to have burn
marks and a severed end additionally in the kitchen they found a row of eight clean plates that had been washed it was reported that Choy sui usually placed the dishes from the day in the sink and wash them all at night on the kitchen counter the police found two baby bottles one empty and the other half full according to Choy sui’s mother she used to take care of her granddaughter after she was born and would prepare two bottles each night feeding the baby half a bottle at a time for four feedings this habit had continued even
after her granddaughter returned home the remaining milk in the bottle suggested that the baby had not been fed the usual amount that night further supporting the theory that the victims were killed during the night 8 months later in February 1996 the case went to trial prosecutors presented the autopsy reports of the two victims concluding that the time of death was before 7 a.m.
during which Lee doang was still at home they also pointed out his failure to pass the polygraph test after a lengthy trial the case reached its conclusion the court found Lee doang guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced him to death after the verdict he refused to admit guilt and filed an appeal one year later in September 1996 a second trial was held the prosecutors continued to present similar evidence proving Le do hang’s innocence was straightforward it only required demonstrating that the victims had died
after 7:00 a.m. on the day of the incident as he had left the house at that time his defense attorney Kim yte a highly skilled and experienced lawyer requested that the court summon a Swiss forensic expert Thomas crom patzer to counter the arguments of the prosecution’s forensic team the prosecution’s forensic team had determined that the victims had died 6 to 8 hours before the autopsy based on lever mortise found on the right thigh of one victim however no notable marks were found on the body Thomas reminded
the court that when the police discovered Choy sui’s body she was not wearing underwear and her underwear had been pulled down to her knees the elastic band was stretched possibly due to some external Force causing the Garment to slide down defense attorney Kim then asked the prosecution’s forensic expert were there any injuries to the victim’s face during the autopsy the prosecution’s forensic expert replied affirmatively however this expert was not the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on Choy sui in
response Attorney Kim argued what you are describing is based solely on photographs how can you be certain about your claim the prosecution’s forensic expert fell silent as they had not participated in the autopsy or visited the crime scene this cast doubt on the prosecution’s testimony regarding the condition of the body Thomas argued that the timeline for rigger mortise varies and using it to estimate the time of death could lead to errors both Cho sui and her daughter had been submerged in water after being killed the temperature
of the water significantly affects the condition of the body higher water temperatures accelerate the appearance of liver mortis the prosecution’s medical examiner had not considered the impact of water temperature on rigger mortise during their examination Thomas also noted that Choy sui may have eaten breakfast possibly seaweed soup at 7:00 a.m.
that morning the absence of bean sprouts in her stomach could simply mean she had not eaten that dish Attorney Kim argued that the initial autopsy report was inaccurate he asserted that Choy sui’s time of death was not before 7:00 a.m. but rather between 8:00 a.m. and 840 a.m. her mother also testified that Choy sui was nearsighted explaining my daughter had a pair of regular glasses and contact lenses she would wear contact lenses during the day for work and switch to regular glasses at night for arrest since Cho sui was found
wearing contact lenses it strongly indicated that her murder occurred during the daytime on the day of the incident the building’s security guard discovered the fire at 9:10 a.m. and called Emergency Services based on the intensity of the fire when extinguished and the timing of the white smoke emerging from the apartment the defense conducted a simulation they constructed a model of the apartment in an open space with a setup similar to the master bedroom when they set fire to a wardrobe in the simulated bedroom it took 10 minutes for
white smoke to become visible outside the window based on this experiment They concluded that the fire was likely started between 8:25 a.m. and 8:35 a.m. at that time Lee doang was attending the opening ceremony at his Hospital supported by a strong Alibi additionally two baby bottles were found on the kitchen counter with dried milk residue at the bottom the prosecution speculated based on Choy sui’s usual feeding routine that she had not fed her daughter at 6: a.m.
however defense attorney Kim argued that while Choy sui typically fed her child every 3 hours her routine might occasionally vary depending on circumstances he also suggested that Choy sui might not have been meticulous and could have only fed her child when the baby cried thus determining the time of death based on this Factor alone was unreliable the prosecution asserted that Lee doang had a clear motive to commit murder driven by anger after discovering his wife’s Affair Attorney Kim countered claiming this motive was speculative at
best he argued even if he had intended to kill his wife why would he harm his own 2-year-old daughter moreover he had no knowledge of his wife’s infidelity following the incident the police questioned neighbors some reported hearing arguments and fights between a couple in a different apartment during the night however there were no unusual noises from apartment 708 where the crime occurred the prosecution claimed that the murder weapon used by Lee doang was a curtain cord approximately 90 cm long made of three thin strands with five small
knots they argued that the marks on his right arm were from his wife’s resistance Attorney Kim refuted this by stating that if the victim had been strangled from behind her first reaction would have been to grab the cord not the perpetrator’s arm furthermore if the the cord had been used to strangle Choy sui her neck would bear corresponding ligature marks yet this detail was absent from the autopsy report there were two main routes to access apartment 708 one passed through the security guard station but the guard
did not notice any suspicious individuals entering or exiting the building at the time the other route the emergency exit was locked and inaccessible this led investigators to initially rule out the possibility of an external purpose trator however the defense presented an alternative a third route existed behind the security station a barrier-free ramp for people with disabilities if the perpetrator had entered through this route they could have avoided the guard’s line of sight during the investigation the attorney
personally tested this path and was able to access the apartment without being noticed by the guard based on this the defense argued that the true perpetrator was someone else in the initial trial the court determined that the evidence presented was insufficient to convict Lee doang ultimately the court declared him not guilty and he was released in front of the courthouse the verdict sparked significant public interest and intense debate in South Korea many people were outraged by the decision believing that Leo hying was the real
killer who murdered his wife and daughter 2 years later on November 13th 1998 South Korea’s supreme court overturned the not- guilty verdict and ordered Lee do hang to be detained pending a retrial over time the case became Meed in prolonged legal proceedings 8 years after the incident in February 2003 the case was retried in South Korea’s supreme court following intense debates between the prosecution and the defense the Court ruled that the defendant’s motive was difficult to establish the assumptions about the victim’s time of
death presented by the prosecution’s forensic expert were deemed sufficient to prove guilt much of the evidence relied on inferred criminal activity Additionally the possibility of a third party perpetrator could not be completely ruled out the court concluded that the evidence presented was not enough to convict the defendant leaving Reasonable Doubt unresolved Lee do hang was acquitted again suggesting potential flaws in the investigative reports by South Korea’s forensic Community which were challenged by Foreign forensic
experts this outcome was an embarrassment for the South Korean prosecutors following the case the South Korean government began efforts to improve its forensic science technology the case sparked widespread controversy over the next decade some believed that Lee doang a skilled surgeon with substantial medical knowledge rented crimer related movies twice to study methods for committing a Perfect Crime others suspected that Leo hang used money and connections to bribe lawyers and forensic experts ultimately securing
his acquittal to address these claims Attorney Kim explained Lee Doh and Choy sui were not wealthy they raised 150 million1 approximately 103,000 USD at the current exchange rate through asset mortgages and other means to open their hospital after the trials Le do hang’s finances were nearly depleted leaving him unable to afford legal representation upon reviewing the case I believed in Leo hang’s innocence and voluntarily chose to defend him since most domestic forensic experts worked exclusively for the prosecution I
decided to hire foreign forensic experts instead throughout the case the police never found direct evidence linking Lee doang to the crime known for his introverted nature the eight years of prolonged litigation left him with severe social anxiety he avoided making eye contact with others and became increasingly reclusive while several media Outlets requested interviews with him he declined stating I hope the real perpetrator is caught someday reflecting on the pain I endured I want to criticize the flawed investigation and
judicial system but I don’t wish to continue sharing my emotions with the public this unresolved controversial and highly publicized case became known as the Korean Simpson case to this day it remains a topic of discussion with public opinion divided almost evenly between supporters and opponents of Lee do hang’s innocence each side holds differing perspectives and interpretations of the story as for whether Leo hang was truly the killer only he knows the answer what do you think leave your thoughts in the comments below that’s it for today’s
video see you in the next one goodbye
