Influencer and actress killed moments after she finished livestream video by 'VIP fan' who put her body in a suitcase and left it in the mountains
An influencer who dreamed of being an actress has been killed moments after she finished recording a livestream video - by one of her fans.
Influencer Yoon Ji-ah, who was in her 20s, was found dead on a mountainside in Muju, North Jeolla Province, South Korea, last month.
The late star, who was an social media influencer but was an aspiring actress, had more than 300,000 followers on social media. She was strangled to death on September 11 and her body was later found in a suitcase.
A man in his 50s, only identified by his surname as Choi, has been arrested in connection to Yoo Ji-ah’s death. The story of what happened to her was highlighted on an episode of South Korean crime show Curious Story Y, which aired on Friday (October 3).
Investigators believe the young star died within just 30 minutes of finishing a livestream. She had been filming in Yeongjong Island, Incheon, which was around a three-hour drive away from where her body was discovered.
Murder suspect Choi reportedly claimed to be the CEO of a South Korean IT company and, according to local news reports, and he had approached the influencer under the guise of a business partnership, telling her that he could increase her followers.
According to local media, the platform Ji-ah used for her livestream had a ranking system for its users which was based on how much money they sent to creators. The higher the level a user reached, therefore, the more money they had spent.
Choi reportedly reached level 56, which is said to have cost at least £1 million won (around £53,000), as reported by The News. On video platforms he was known by the nickname Black Cat and had earned himself the status of a VIP fan because of his high spending.
But, according to local reports, he did not have the weatlh he claimed to have at all and was actually in debt. Yoon Ji-ah was said to have wanted to terminate her links to Choi before her death, and CCTV footage shows him knelt at her feet and allegedly begging her to reconsider.
Witnesses reported that they later saw Choi dragging a large suitcase from his house and going to multiple locations, with the last being in Muju's mountains. He was arrested by local police 12 hours after the discovery of Yoon Ji-ah’s body.
After he was arrested he initially denied the charges against him but eventually confessed to killing the influencer, according to local media.
Ji-ah’s cause of death was confirmed as asphyxiation due to neck compression. On the day she died, she had finished a livestream video at around 3pm.
The influencer's mum told reporters: “The detective said at 3.27pm, the CCTV showed her about to get out of the car, but she was pulled back inside by force. The door then closed.”