South Korean police reconfirmed on Thursday a French woman is the mother of two babies found dead in her house in Seoul, citing the outcome of additional DNA testing.
The test conducted by the National Institute of Scientific Investigation showed body samples from the woman matched the DNA of the babies, local police said.
Police investigators say they will book the 39-year-old woman identified by the initial "V" of her first name on infanticide charges and demand, through diplomatic channels, her return to face investigation in South Korea.
The investigation began as the woman's husband, who is also French, reported to South Korean police on July 23 that he found two frozen babies in a freezer in the couple's apartment in southern Seoul shortly after returning from a vacation in France alone.
Last week, police said the French couple are the parents of the two infants citing the results of earlier DNA tests. But they requested additional DNA testing as the couple, now in France, strongly denied their parentage.
The couple's lawyer disputed the first test results by South Korean police, saying there is no proof that the hairs and earpicks used to take DNA samples belong to the woman. Police later commissioned experts to conduct another DNA test with a tissue sample in storage at an obstetric clinic in Seoul where the wife had a hysterectomy in December 2003 to make sure the woman is the mother of the babies.
A hysterectomy is a full or partial removal of the uterus, resulting in sterility for a woman.
The couple said on Tuesday that they will hold a news conference next week in France to unveil their plan on whether to return to Seoul to face police questioning on the infanticide case.
The exact time and venue of the news conference will be made public in a few days, according to their lawyer.
Seoul, Aug. 17 (Yonhap News)
Additional DNA test shows French woman mother of dead babies: police |
