True Crime Fan Who Murdered Tutor ‘Out of Curiosity’ Sentenced to Life

According to the BBC and The Korea Times, Jung Yoo-jung received her sentence on Friday from a Busan District Court judge.

In late May, Jung was arrested for the suspected murder of a female tutor she met online as reported by the South Korean news outlet, The Chosun Ilbo. She later confessed to killing and dismembering the woman “out of curiosity,” according to police, per the outlet.

“Jung was found to have premeditated the crime driven by a desire to kill someone after she became obsessed with murder from TV programs and books,” a Busan police spokesman said at the time.

Authorities said, per The Chosun Ilbo, that Jung posed as a mother of a ninth grader who wanted to learn English, reaching out to the victim via a tutoring app two days prior to the murder. According to the outlet, Jung had contacted over 50 people through the app, focusing on women who lived alone and did at-home tutoring.

The Chosun IIbo said when Jung went to the victim’s home, she posed as a student by wearing a school uniform, with police noting that the 23-year-old “is short and with the uniform on, the victim probably mistook her for a middle-school student.” After the victim let Jung inside her home, she stabbed her, with the BBC reporting that she stabbed the woman more than 100 times.

Authorities said Jung went to a nearby grocery store following the murder and purchased trash bags and bleach. She allegedly then dismembered the woman and put body parts in a suitcase, which she then disposed of near a river north of Busan.

According to the BBC, Jung was arrested after the taxi driver who drove her the location where she dumped the remains contacted police. The victim’s remains that were not discovered in the suitcase were found at Jung’s home, per The Chosun Ilbo. Authorities also learned that Jung’s browsing history revealed she had researched how to kill and dispose of a body for months prior to the murder, per the BBC.

Upon her arrest, Jung was charged with premeditated murder, destruction and abandonment of a dead body.

Police said, per the BBC, that Jung received high scores on psychopathic tests. According to The Korea Times, Jung argued that she committed the crime while in a state of “mental and physical disorder,” but the court rejected her claim.

“The crime was carefully planned and carried out and the defendant’s statements have frequently changed. Thus it is difficult to accept her claim of mental and physical disorder,” the court said, per the outlet.

The Busan District Court judge also noted that the tutor’s murder “spread fear in society that one can become a victim for no reason” and “incited a general distrust,” according to the BBC.

Per reports, prosecutors asked for a death sentence.

Along with receiving a life sentence, Jung is required to wear an electronic monitoring device for 30 years.

Basan police have not revealed the identity of the victim, however, BBC reported that she was 26.