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Woman, Boyfriend Drowned Husband After Pufferfish Poisoning Went Awry: Cops

Lee Eun-hae and Cho Hyun-soo, accused of killing Lee’s husband for an insurance payout, have been on the run from South Korean authorities since December.

A South Korean woman and her boyfriend have been arrested after four months on the run from authorities looking to charge them with murder over a man’s 2019 drowning, Incheon Metropolitan Police said. Lee Eun-hae, 31, and Cho Hyun-soo, 30, are accused of conspiring to kill Lee’s husband in a bid to secure an insurance payout of 800 million won (roughly $650,000 USD). The alleged murder, committed in June 2019, was preceded by two significantly stranger efforts, according to police. In February that year, officials said, Lee and Cho had attempted to poison the unnamed man by lacing his food with a pufferfish toxin. When that didn’t work, they tried again in May, “pushing him into water,” according to The Korea Herald. It was not immediately clear if these first two alleged attempts roused the victim’s suspicions, or if they did, why he then remained in close proximity to the couple. After being questioned by prosecutors in December 2021, Lee and Cho fled custody. Since their April 16 recapture, they have also been charged with attempted murder and attempted violation of insurance fraud legislation.