Capsaicin found in 44-month-old girl’s blood... Case file reopened for review after seven years

[Financial News] Police have launched a review to determine whether it was appropriate to close the case of a 44-month-old girl who died of head injuries seven years ago—twice at the preliminary inquiry stage and without a formal investigation. The review comes as signs of a flawed initial investigation continue to emerge, including the failure to question key witnesses, despite capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their heat, being detected in the child’s blood and injuries being found across her body.

Police said on the 8th that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency interviewed B, the father of Girl A, who died of head injuries on June 28, 2019, at a meeting last month on the 23rd. The interview was part of a “review inquiry” prompted by B’s request, filed last September, for a review of whether the police decision to close the preliminary inquiry had been appropriate.
In 2019, when Girl A died, the Seoul Seongbuk Police Station closed its preliminary inquiry, finding “no suspicion,” saying it was difficult to identify grounds for suspecting crimes such as child abuse. After controversy surrounding the case spread, the station launched another pre-booking inquiry in January this year, but closed it without booking anyone in April, just three months later, as it had before. No formal investigation was opened and no one was booked, despite allegations that there were signs Girl A had been abused by her stepmother.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which is reviewing the case files, found that there had been significant gaps in the Seongbuk station’s preliminary inquiry at the time.
The biggest unanswered question is the “detection of capsaicin.” The National Forensic Service’s autopsy report stated that although it was difficult to directly link the finding to the cause of death, a considerable amount of capsaicin had been detected in Girl A’s blood. It also said that, given how unlikely it was that a 44-month-old child had consumed it on her own, the possibility of abuse by another person could not be entirely ruled out. Girl A’s older sister had also testified that “the stepmother forcibly fed her younger sister spicy sauce.” However, the Seongbuk station did not separately investigate how the capsaicin had entered Girl A’s body.
The Seongbuk station also attributed the bruises and wounds across Girl A’s body to the “possibility of self-harm due to an intellectual disability,” but investigators found that it had obtained neither witness statements nor objective evidence to support that assessment. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s review also revealed that the station had skipped interviews with key witnesses, including the housekeeper and childcare center staff who had spent time with Girl A in her daily life.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has sent Girl A’s autopsy report to an expert agency and is seeking a detailed assessment of how capsaicin entered her body and whether the possibility of abuse can be ruled out, among other issues.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency plans to decide whether to refer the case, once the review inquiry is complete, to the pilot Subcommittee of the Investigation Review Committee for Women’s and Juvenile Cases. After the subcommittee, comprising experts in crimes against children and young people, reexamines whether the handling of the case was appropriate, the matter may be submitted to the full Investigation Review Committee. That could lead to binding follow-up measures, such as assigning the case to a different police station or ordering further investigation or a reinvestigation.
A police official said, “We plan to carefully review whether there were shortcomings in fact-finding during the earlier preliminary inquiry and then decide, in accordance with procedure, whether to refer the case to the review committee.”
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter