Killer longed for mother, say police

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s worst serial killer in decades left a poem about his longing for his mother and skillful drawings of women in his neat, studio apartment, police say.

He allegedly lured some victims with a forged police identification that he crafted at home with his computer and printer. Yoo Young-chul, a 33-year-old with a history of epilepsy and jail terms for theft and sexual abuse, also did much of his killing at home.Police yesterday announced the arrest of Yoo, who says he killed as many as 26 people, many of them female prostitutes and older, wealthy people.The case has shocked South Korea, a relatively safe nation of 48 million people where the murder rate hovers just below 1 000 a year.Images of Yoo in captivity – his face hidden by a blue, surgical mask, baseball cap and yellow, hooded anorak – were splashed across television screens and the front pages of major newspapers yesterday.”I don’t even want to think about it.I’m worried about my children,” said Choi Hwa-sun, a restaurant owner whose house is near the hill in Seoul where some of Yoo’s alleged victims were buried.This weekend, police dug up 11 corpses on the hill near Yoo’s apartment building after he led them to their shallow graves.Police described a smart, meticulous killer who blamed his misfortune over the years on the wealthy and women.South Korean media said Yoo’s wife divorced him while he was in jail years ago, and a masseuse, whose profession is often a front for prostitution, turned down his hand in marriage.Investigators who searched the suspect’s home found a poem apparently written by Yoo in which he expressed longing for his mother, as well as portraits of naked women that he apparently drew.Yoo also murdered at least eight wealthy people, police said, although he apparently didn’t steal from them.The killing spree began in September when Yoo, recently released from prison, murdered a 73-year-old professor and his wife, according to police.South Korea’s biggest serial killer case before this was in 1975, when a man named Kim Dae-doo killed 17 people.Ten women were raped and killed in 1986 in a case that was never solved.”I think after he killed the first man, it wasn’t a problem for him to kill many more,” college student Lee Ji-young said of Yoo’s murder spree.- Nampa-APYoo Young-chul, a 33-year-old with a history of epilepsy and jail terms for theft and sexual abuse, also did much of his killing at home.Police yesterday announced the arrest of Yoo, who says he killed as many as 26 people, many of them female prostitutes and older, wealthy people.The case has shocked South Korea, a relatively safe nation of 48 million people where the murder rate hovers just below 1 000 a year.Images of Yoo in captivity – his face hidden by a blue, surgical mask, baseball cap and yellow, hooded anorak – were splashed across television screens and the front pages of major newspapers yesterday.”I don’t even want to think about it.I’m worried about my children,” said Choi Hwa-sun, a restaurant owner whose house is near the hill in Seoul where some of Yoo’s alleged victims were buried.This weekend, police dug up 11 corpses on the hill near Yoo’s apartment building after he led them to their shallow graves.Police described a smart, meticulous killer who blamed his misfortune over the years on the wealthy and women.South Korean media said Yoo’s wife divorced him while he was in jail years ago, and a masseuse, whose profession is often a front for prostitution, turned down his hand in marriage.Investigators who searched the suspect’s home found a poem apparently written by Yoo in which he expressed longing for his mother, as well as portraits of naked women that he apparently drew.Yoo also murdered at least eight wealthy people, police said, although he apparently didn’t steal from them.The killing spree began in September when Yoo, recently released from prison, murdered a 73-year-old professor and his wife, according to police.South Korea’s biggest serial killer case before this was in 1975, when a man named Kim Dae-doo killed 17 people.Ten women were raped and killed in 1986 in a case that was never solved.”I think after he killed the first man, it wasn’t a problem for him to kill many more,” college student Lee Ji-young said of Yoo’s murder spree.- Nampa-AP