A request has been filed for a review of whether police properly closed their inquiry into the death of a 44-month-old girl in Seoul's Seongbuk District seven years ago.
The father of the girl, who died in June 2019, filed the request with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 7th, according to Yonhap News Agency and other outlets on the 13th. Seongbuk Police Station closed the case in April without filing charges, saying it had found no evidence of a crime.
The father has argued that bruises and injuries were found across his daughter's body and that emergency room medical staff also suspected child abuse, but that police wrapped up the case as an unexplained death without opening a formal investigation.
He also contends that allegations of abuse by the girl's stepmother should be reexamined, citing statements her older sister gave at a Sunflower Center, a state-run support facility for abuse victims, and the autopsy findings of the National Forensic Service.
The forensic service's autopsy report listed the cause of death as deterioration of her overall physical condition caused by head injuries and severe dehydration. A substantial amount of capsaicin was detected in her blood.
The National Forensic Service wrote that while the capsaicin could not be linked to the cause of death, it was presumed that she may have ingested a substantial amount, adding that there were doubts about whether she had consumed it herself.
The report said head injuries were the main factor in the death, compounded by her preexisting deterioration in overall physical condition, including severe dehydration. It added that the mechanism behind the head injuries could not be determined from the autopsy findings alone and that no evidence pointing to the involvement of another person had been confirmed.
The report noted, however, that circumstances difficult to attribute to the girl herself, such as the detection of capsaicin, meant the possibility of abuse by another person had not been entirely ruled out.
"This is not about concluding that a specific person should be punished. It is about examining whether the process by which police closed the case was appropriate and whether further investigation is needed," the father said.
If the request is accepted, outside experts and others will review how the case was handled and determine whether supplementary or renewed investigation is warranted.
