Police are investigating the deaths of a man in his 40s and his 9-year-old son after their bodies were discovered separately at an apartment complex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday.
Authorities received an emergency call at about 5:55 p.m., reporting that a person had fallen from a residential buidling in Giheung-gu district. Officers arrived at the scene found a man who was presumed to have died after falling from the 20th floor.
A witness told police they heard branches breaking before noticing the body on the ground.
During the investigation, officers found a car key in the man's pocket and located his vehicle in the apartment parking lot. The body of his 9-year-old son was discovered in the back seat, partly covered with black plastic.
A preliminary assessment indicated the child likely died from asphyxiation caused by neck compression.
Police believe the man may have killed his son before taking his own life.
CCTV footage shoed him accompanying the child home from school earlier in the day and entering the apartment complex where the family had previously lived.
No third party appeared in the recorded footage.
Relatives told officers the man had recently expressed distress after losing about 200 million won ($136,000) in stock investments.
Authorities have requested autopsies from the National Forensic Servie to determine the precise cause and timing of the child's death and to confirm the sequence of the events.
hnpark@heraldcorp.com
