A stalker posed as a delivery driver before bursting into his obsession’s home and stabbing her to death after he had already executed her sister and mother, to avenge getting the cold shoulder.
Kim Tae-hyun, 25, from South Korea was blocked on social media and via phone network by a woman he had become obsessed with after “becoming acquainted through an online game,” Koreaherald.com reported.
The victim, unnamed in her home country as per laws around court cases, changed her number but the killer got her new one and after seeing her address on social media, hatched a sinister plan to kill her.
Beforehand, he searched things on the internet like ‘Emergency places to hide’ and ‘How to kill a person quickly’.
On March 21, Tae-hyun arrived at the apartment complex in Seoul posing as a delivery driver, armed with weapons.
He was asked to leave the package outside, but he stayed silent and hid until the door was opened minutes later.
Opening the door was the target’s younger sister, 22. The killer pushed his way in and stabbed her to death.
Later that night, the mum returned but was brutally taken out by Tae-hyun.
And one hour later, the woman he had been stalking arrived to find the bodies of her mum and sister.
She suffered the same fate and was stabbed in the neck.
Tae-hyun stayed in the home for three days and ate their food and drank their alcohol.
Friends of the main target called the police after 72 hours. They were shocked to find the killer living amongst three dead bodies.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty but this was rejected in because he had acknowledged most of his crimes and had no serious criminal record prior to that day, but for minor charges of theft and being fined for harassing somebody over social media.
The surviving family members are considering asking for an appeal against the sentence, believing life behind bars does not fit the magnitude of the gruesome crimes.
On Tuesday the Seoul Northern District Court court concluded that the crime had been premeditated and planned in advance.
He apologised to the family and said his “heart ached for the victims.”
The killer also submitted a statement saying he deeply regretted his crimes, “even though it is not so sure whether the statement came from the bottom of his heart,” the court said.
Since the chilling case rocked South Korea, the country passed a bill that will see convicted stalkers being able to be jailed for up to five years rather than the previous maximum of 29 days.
