In this episode of the Rotten Mango podcast, the details of a horrific crime are examined. The victim was dismembered into 365 pieces, suspected to be part of an underground trade for human flesh. The summary describes the gruesome evidence found at the crime scene and the meticulous process the perpetrator used.
It also highlights concerns about the police's seemingly indifferent and delayed response despite the victim's frantic emergency call. The public outcry over the authorities' actions resulted in reforms and demands for transparency. While the depravity of the crime shocks, the summary also raises questions about law enforcement accountability.
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The victim's apartment revealed squalor and neglect, according to the police, with scattered personal items and graphic photos hinting at an unsettling environment. However, the true horror was the perpetrator's meticulous dismemberment: the victim's flesh was carefully stripped away into 365 uniform pieces in black bags, leaving only her face and hair intact. Sanger-Katz compares the body to slaughtered livestock, speculating the six-hour "deboning" may have begun while the victim was still alive.
Despite the victim's clear distress signals during a multi-minute emergency call, police were dismissive and unprofessional, heard casually discussing a "domestic dispute". Their inaccurate initial claim that the call lasted only 15 seconds raised concerns about transparency. Though the victim conveyed her location near landmarks like a school, police failed to find her for 13 hours. Their delayed search, casual demeanor, and ultimately hanging up on the victim have faced intense public criticism.
The perpetrator's modest income yet substantial money transfers to China, combined with his mysterious wiping of call records, fueled theories of illicit involvement. A criminology professor noted the body's precise dismemberment—removing organs but preserving flesh—suggested intent beyond covering up a crime. Allegations arose of ties to an underground "red market" trade that values flesh as a nutrient source or supplement. The family believes the victim may have been killed specifically for her meat.
Citing the cruel, "inhumane" nature of the crime, the judge issued a death sentence, later commuted to life. However, public fury erupted over the police's shifting timeline, indifference toward the emergency, and slow response time—contrasted with delivery service efficiency. Widespread mistrust of authorities led to reforms like a new dispatch system aimed at improving urgency and competence. Still, the victim's family remains unsatisfied, demanding full call audio release despite police reluctance to cause further trauma.
1-Page Summary
The crime scene and the manner in which the crime was executed reveal unsettling details. Here we delve into the condition of the victim's apartment and the brutal extent to which the body was dismembered.
Upon entering the apartment, visitors are immediately struck by darkness and the smell. The small kitchen to the left houses a refrigerator and sink next to kitchen knives. To the right is the bathroom door, emanating a stench of stale urine.
Further in lies the bedroom, even grimier with dirty bedding, open suitcases full of soiled clothing, and disturbing photographs of women scattered everywhere. The dingy state of the apartment continues with urine-stained exterior walls, molding window edges, and an overall foul odor reminiscent of wet, mildewed towels. Inside, feminine hygiene products are strewn about, and dozens of graphic photos of women are laid out amidst crumpled, dirty tissues.
Even without a woman living there, the mess suggests a shocking disregard for cleanliness. The apartment's limited furniture is coated in a greasy film and everything speaks to a neglected, unsettling environment.
Deboning, rather than dismembering, serves as a disturbing marker of the perpetrator's actions. He meticulously slices all the flesh off the victim's body in uniform, thin pieces. The scene is grisly with over 365 pieces of flesh portioned out into black plastic bags, and only the victim's face and hair left intact. Bel ...
The disturbing details of the crime, including the condition of the victim's apartment and the extent of the dismemberment
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The handling of an emergency call by the police has been under scrutiny due to their response time and the questionable actions taken during and after a distressing incident involving a victim, Kimmy.
Despite Kimmy providing detailed information about her surroundings, the police failed to act on it promptly. While she was able to convey landmarks near her location, the police inaccurately reported the call's duration as only 15 seconds when it was, in fact, much longer, leading to a lack of urgent response. Kimmy was trapped in a house that was closely situated to recognizable locations, such as an elementary school and playground, and only a short distance from the police station. Yet, the victim wasn't located at the time, and the police took 13 hours to catch the assailant after dispatching officers. The search, deemed a top priority, didn't involve waking up any residents to inquire about any disturbances. The police later revealed the true length of the call, correcting their previous statement from 15 seconds to one minute and 20 seconds, and eventually admitting it was actually over 7 minutes long.
The police's report on the emergency call's duration misled the public, initially claiming it lasted a mere 15 seconds and later admitting the call was extensive at 7 minutes and 36 seconds until they hung up. Their explanations for the discrepancies raised questions about why they did not provide accurate information from the outset and whether they understood the call's severity.
Throughout the call, the police's demeanor was perceived as dismissive and unprofessional. Even as Kimmy screamed for her life, the police officers were heard discussing the incident casually as if it were a domestic dispute. Her relayed information appeared not to have been acted upon with urgency. Officers were unsure about her location throughout the call, even when auditory cues, like attempts to breach the room Kimmy had locked herself in, indicated impending danger. The casual nature of their conversation suggested a lack of proper recognition for the emergency at hand.
The police's handling of the emergency call and the investigation, including their response time and questionable actions
Speculation arises around the possibility of the perpetrator's involvement in the illegal human meat trade, triggered by his financial activities and the nature of his crime.
The financial patterns of the perpetrator have raised a red flag. Despite earning a modest $1,300 a month through manual labor, he was able to amass $5,000 in savings. Over four and a half years, he sent a total of over $50,000 to his family in China from this relatively low income. Annually, he sent $8,900 to China, a significant figure considering his potential maximum yearly earnings of $17,000. Yet, he still had a surplus of $6,300 in his bank account after these remittances. Further arousing suspicion, the perpetrator deleted all of his phone's communication records from the recent two months, with no clear explanation provided to the judge as to why he engaged in this selective purge of information.
The malice behind the perpetrator's actions came into consideration during the trial, focusing on the precise manner in which the victim's body was mutilated. Rather than the disposal of the body being a hurried affair characteristic of a first-time offender, the professor of criminology observed that the extended six-hour mutilation, meticulous uniform cuts, and careful division into plastic bags were indicative of a purpose beyond panic or inexperience.
Disturbingly, the victim's body was found sliced into pieces—a process that preserved the organs but removed flesh from almost all parts of the body, except for the face and calves. Netizens and a butcher alluded to the technique and skill involved, suggesting it wasn't the work of an amateur. A segment of the 'red market' was m ...
Theories about the perpetrator's possible involvement in an illegal human meat spitfire, including his financial situation and background
The court's investigation and judgment, as well as the public's response to the legal handling and police conduct in a horrific crime case, have garnered widespread attention and controversy.
The court scrutinized the gruesome details of the crime and determined the perpetrator's motive was likely related to the illegal human meat trade rather than sexual assault. The careful carving and regularity of the victim's body parts suggested a motive beyond murder. Citing the extreme cruelty and inhumanity of the crime, the judge found it necessary to hand down the death sentence, which was later commuted to life imprisonment due to the absence of remorse shown by the defendant.
The public's fury was triggered by various aspects of police behavior throughout the case. The police admitted to lying about parts of the investigation, leading to a public outcry and demands for answers. Netizens denounced the police, who initially labeled the incident a domestic dispute, which may have affected the urgency of their response.
The comparison of the police's response time to that of food delivery services, and one detective's assertion that a 13-hour response was "pretty fast," have caused widespread disbelief and anger, particularly considering the victim was alive during the emergency call.
Following the emergency call's public criticism, reforms were made to the emergency response system, including the creation of a central dispatch system to prevent inadequate ...
The legal proceedings, including the court's verdict and sentencing, as well as the public's reactions
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