The 68th episode of E Channel’s Brave Detectives 4, which aired on the 23rd, featured Inspector Gu Young Jae of the Busan Yeonje Police Station’s Detective Division, Sergeant Yoon Jeong Ah of the National Police Agency’s Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Division, Inspector Lee Geon Ho of the Gangbuk Police Station’s Violent Crimes Team 3, and Inspector Park Soo Beom of the Gangbuk Police Station’s Investigation Team 4, who revealed the case files they personally solved. Singer Han Hae appeared as a guest.
The first case introduced that day took five years to reach a conclusion. Despite the lack of clear evidence, persistent tracking uncovered the truth behind a murder. A son had died during a trip to Boracay, Philippines, with a friend, and suspicion arose when the family found insurance documents worth about ₩700 million KRW (about $484,000 USD) while sorting through his belongings. Suspicion grew especially as the insurance beneficiary was Jang (a pseudonym), the friend who traveled with the son.
Jang claimed, “We drank until 2am, I fell asleep, and woke up in the morning to find my friend dead.” The death certificate from the Philippines cited acute heart failure due to alcohol as the cause. The family, without much suspicion, asked Jang to at least take care of the ashes, so the body was cremated locally without an autopsy. However, after the funeral, Jang sued the family for ₩60.0 million KRW (about $41,500 USD) in debt claims, and the insurance papers were also confirmed.
Instead, investigators analyzed the victim’s bank accounts and call logs and found evidence of a ₩70.0 million KRW (about $48,400 USD) withdrawal shortly before death. They also found that the victim had confided in acquaintances about being troubled by money loaned to a friend. CCTV footage and testimonies from locals contradicted Jang’s statements, and inconsistencies were found in the body’s position at discovery and rigor mortis timing. A local worker mentioned that Jang cried in front of the family but laughed and joked outside. Notably, toxicology results detected zolpidem in the victim’s clothing, a drug the victim had no prescription for.
Further investigation revealed that Jang’s wife, a nursing assistant, had been prescribed large quantities of zolpidem over a long period, coinciding with the travel dates. It was also discovered that Jang forged notarized documents to manipulate money matters after a fire broke out at the victim’s previous residence, causing concerns over the deposit, despite no actual money transactions. Jang was sentenced to prison for fraud and document forgery, but the investigation didn’t stop there.
Statements indicated attempts to conceal beneficiary changes during the insurance process, and forensic analysis uncovered messages discussing the possibility of receiving ₩700 million KRW (about $484,000 USD) insurance payout in case of death by suffocation. Jang apparently expected a large sum from the claim during the investigation. The team also noted deliberate minimization of details related to the victim’s death in Jang’s handwritten statements, and his psychopathy test results exceeded the threshold. With advice from forensic experts, the team dismantled Jang’s lies one by one. Upon release, he was immediately rearrested on murder charges and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Brave Detectives 4 airs every Friday at 9:50pm and is also available on major OTT platforms like Netflix, TVING, and WAVVE.