Five people have been arrested after the discovery of a woman’s body in a trunk outside a popular Gwinnett County spa led to a “house of horrors” where the victim was beaten and starved to death.
Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson learned exclusive new details about the case on Thursday.
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Investigators said that on Tuesday at around 10:50 p.m., someone called to report a body inside the trunk of a silver Jaguar outside of Jeju, a Korean spa and sauna.
At the time, investigators couldn’t tell the victim’s gender because of decomposition.
Johnson learned Thursday that four people have been arrested and charged with felony murder, imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing a death. They are identified as Joonhyun Lee, Joonho Lee, Hyunji Lee and Gawon Lee. A 14-year-old juvenile who has not been identified was also arrested on murder charges.
A sixth person has been charged but is not yet in custody, police said.
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During a news conference on Thursday afternoon, police revealed the woman, who is believed to be in her 20s or early-to-mid 30s, was lured over from South Korea over the summer to join a “religious organization.”
She was then locked in a basement and tortured. The medical examiner says her official cause of death is malnourishment. When she was found, her body weighed approximately 70 pounds.
Police believe the suspects started starving the victim on August 3. They believe she died sometime in late August.
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Detectives believe the five suspects played a role in the victim’s death and then helped conceal her in the parking lot of the spa.
The victim’s identity has not been released. Police say her family has not been notified and does not live in the United States.
