A former basketball player, identified only by his surname Jeong, was nabbed by police Wednesday on suspicion of murdering his sister-in-law and abandoning her body.

Hwaseong Dongbu Police Station arrested without a warrant a 31-year-old suspect for allegedly murdering the twin sister of his 32-year-old wife last Wednesday at the home of his wife’s parents.

According to police, Jeong got into a heated argument with the victim before strangling her to death. Jeong then took the victim’s body to a nearby mountain where he buried her.

The suspect attempted to conceal his crime by using the victim’s cell phone to send his wife a text message, which implied the victim went on a trip and will return Sunday.

When the victim failed to show up on Sunday, however, Jeong’s wife went to the police the next day and reported her missing.

Police conducted an investigation and found out Jeong had sold his sister-in-law’s car on the day of the murder and confronted him. He then confessed his crimes. Jeong reportedly told the police that he killed the victim because she would always “look down on him.”

Police said it will soon request a formal arrest warrant for Jeong.

Jeong, a former player for the Korean Basketball League’s Ulsan Mobis, is a top basketball prospect gone astray.

Once heralded as a high school superstar, Jeong dropped out of Korea University after failing to adjust to campus life. He was picked in the first round of the KBL draft by Daegu Orions but was cut by the team before his rookie season began.

He was picked up by Ulsan later in the season, but was again cut by the team after playing a handful of games as a key player.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)