Who killed the girl?

This surveillance camera footage shows two men and a woman entering a motel in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Aug. 27. The two men were arrested on charges of raping the woman who was drunk and left there alone for hours while unconscious. She was transferred to a hospital but died a week later. (Photo : Yonhap)

Mystery surrounds unexplained death of rape victim

Suspicions are growing over the mysterious death of a 21-year-old female college student in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

The woman, whose name wasn’t disclosed, was found unconscious in the afternoon of Aug. 28 at a motel, where she had been allegedly raped by two men hours earlier. She was immediately hospitalized, but died a week later.

The National Forensic Service (NFS) said Wednesday after conducting an autopsy that it couldn’t find any evidence of murder or suicide.

“There were no external injuries on her body. We found no extraordinary respiratory tract problems, either,” an NFS spokesman said.
Police have detained the two men _ a 27-year-old Ko and 23-year-old Shin.

According to officers, the woman worked part-time at a bar, where Ko also worked. On Aug. 27, Ko arranged a blind date between his coworker and Shin.

The three drank together that night at a bar.

Ko told police that they drank six bottles of soju and a number of glasses of draft beer before she passed out.

The two then took her to the motel around 4:30 a.m. and raped her, leaving the motel hours later.

Ko called her in the morning of Aug. 28 because she didn’t come to work. He thought she was still sleeping, so went to the motel again in the afternoon to wake her up, only to find her lying unconscious. He then called the 119 Emergency Center.

She was taken to a nearby hospital, but didn’t recover consiuosness. She remained unconscious until she died.

Police said rape charges will be brought against Ko and Shin.

“It’s impossible to charge them with murder or attempted murder because there is no evidence showing this,” said an officer from the Suwon Nambu Police Station.

Her bereaved family has raised the possibility of the use of drugs, saying that she was not habitually a heavy drinker.

Her father told a local daily that just a few glasses of beer could make her drunk.

“I don’t believe my daughter drank such a large amount of liquor with men she barely knew,” the father said. “They might have abducted her to rape her. There should be an investigation into whether they used any drugs on her.”

An investigator said the forensic service is expected to unveil additional autopsy results next week, hoping that they will provide a clue as to the cause of death. But he did not rule out the possibility that the case may remain a mystery. <The Korea Times/Na Jeong-ju>

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