In ‘Brave Detectives 4’, cases that were left unsolved but were solved through the tenacity of the detectives were revealed, drawing attention.

In the 15th episode of ‘Brave Detectives 4’ (directed by Lee Ji-sun) aired on Tcast E Channel on the 20th, Superintendent Kim Do-gon, head of the Intelligent Crime Investigation Team at Hwaseong West Police Station, Superintendent Lee Bong-seok of Gangseo Police Station, former Superintendent Yoon Oe-chul of the Scientific Investigation Unit (KCSI), and Superintendent Kim Jin-soo appeared and shared the investigation logs they solved themselves.

On that day‘s broadcast, ‘Global MZ’ icon and singer Choi Ye-na appeared as a guest and attracted attention. Choi Ye-na made the MCs smile by sharing her exciting feelings, saying, “I’ve been doing mystery programs for about 4 years, but this is my first time working on a real case, so I‘m a little nervous.”

The case that was introduced next started with a radio call that a murder had occurred at a bar. The crime scene was covered in blood, and a bar owner in her early 30s was found dead with her carotid artery punctured. There was only one stab wound, and there were no additional stab wounds, so it was a little different from a typical murder case. There were no other clues at the scene other than bloodstains.

The investigation team did their best to find a suspect among the people around them, along with interviewing witnesses. A passerby who was passing by the scene of the crime around the time of the alleged crime saw a man running across the street after leaving the bar. There was a specific statement that he was a young man with a short, thin build, but it was difficult to find him.

While checking the victim’s phone records and ledger, the investigation team noticed that four customers had visited the bar. When they checked with the staff about the customers, they found that they looked like the witnesses. After checking the contact information of nearby businesses, they found that he was not an ordinary person. He was a North Korean defector in his early 30s and a wanted person who had threatened to kill an acquaintance with a knife and fled. According to a North Korean defector group official, Jeong was a former special forces member who lived a comfortable life in the North but had a hard time in South Korea.

According to Jeong’s call records, he was near the scene of the crime right after the estimated time of the crime. In addition, a witness stated that Jeong‘s photo matched the person he saw. The investigation team tracked the location of Jeong’s cell phone and engaged in a nationwide chase with Jeong. Unable to predict Jeong‘s movements while on the train, the investigation team arrived at Busan Station faster than the train. After that, the investigation team closely followed Jeong while monitoring the location of his cell phone for 24 hours, and Jeong was arrested at the end of the race.

Jeong’s shoes matched the bloodstains found at the scene and the sole pattern, and fine bloodstains were also found. However, he continued to deny the crime. However, the crime weapon was found, and he eventually admitted to the crime. He said that he needed money urgently and asked the victim to lend him money, but when he was rejected, he killed her in a fit of anger. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The case introduced by KCSI began with a report that a rotten smell was coming from the first floor of the villa where he lived, but no matter how many times he knocked on the door, there was no response. There were blankets piled up in the closet inside the house, and when the blankets were removed, a decomposed body was found. The body‘s hands and feet were tied, and its face was covered with black plastic and wrapped with yellow tape. Inside the black plastic was a garbage bag, and its bare face was also covered with tape, leaving only its nose and mouth open, raising more questions.

The victim was a tenant living in the house, a woman in her early 40s who was living alone after a divorce. Two days after the alleged incident, a record of cash withdrawal using the victim’s credit card was confirmed at an ATM in a different area. A person was caught on CCTV, but it was difficult to identify them because they appeared wearing a black umbrella, a hat, and a mask. He withdrew a total of 1.2 million won on three occasions.

Based on the statements of acquaintances that the victim recently had money, the investigation of those around him revealed that the victim‘s best friend had lied about the existence of her boyfriend. He made an excuse that her boyfriend had embezzled 50 million won from his company and was avoiding the police. In addition, a suspicious tip emerged that the best friend and his boyfriend had been living together at the victim’s house.

The best friend‘s boyfriend squandered all the embezzled money on horse racing and entertainment, and was in debt. He gave an alibi for the date of the crime, but it was not verifiable. First, he was detained on fraud charges because he was a wanted person, and one of his suspicious acquaintances visited him, increasing suspicion. The acquaintance was a man with the same body type as the person in the bank CCTV.

He is a man in his mid-20s, and he claimed that he met his best friend’s boyfriend 7 years ago as a customer and a part-time worker. The results of the financial and communication records showed that he had called a rental car company the day before the alleged crime and that he had rented a car on the day he withdrew cash. The vehicle GPS traces also showed that he had gone to the victim‘s residence in the early morning of the alleged crime. The man, who initially evaded the charges, confessed when evidence appeared.

He claimed that his best friend’s boyfriend told him that a woman he knew had a lot of money, so he wanted to just steal the money, but that he decided to kill them after seeing their faces. When the accomplice confessed, the best friend‘s boyfriend also confessed. The criminals shocked everyone by stating that they had withdrawn cash two days after the crime because they had an acquaintance’s first birthday party that day and a company recruitment exam the next day, so they had some free time afterwards. The best friend was found not guilty, and the criminals were sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Meanwhile, ‘Brave Detectives 4’ airs every Friday at 9:50 p.m. and is also available on major OTTs such as Netflix, Tving, and Wave. You can also check out vivid news and videos about the program on E Channel‘s official YouTube and Instagram.

Reporter Choi Yun-na, Donga.com yyynnn@donga.com