Woman's Body Found in Suitcase in Georgia Dumpster 35 Years Ago Identified

A woman's body found wrapped with plastic and duct tape in a suitcase inside a southeast Georgia dumpster on Valentine's Day in 1988 has been identified.

DNA testing identified the previously unknown woman as Chong Un Kim, 26, of Hinesville, just south of Savannah, Georgia, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a statement on October 23.

"On the afternoon of Sunday, February 14, 1988, the GBI received a request from the Jenkins County Sheriff's Office to assist with a death investigation," the GBI said. "The victim, wrapped with plastic and duct tape, was found inside a large, nylon suitcase that had been placed in a dumpster just north of Millen, GA, in Jenkins County. The victim had been dead for about four to seven days. The cause of death was asphyxiation."

Kim arrived in the U.S. from South Korea in 1981 and lived in Hinesville in the years before her death.

GBI investigators this year began working with Othram, a Texas-based company that uses advanced DNA to solve cases, and following a genealogical search, Kim was positively identified.

Kim's family was notified by the GBI about the identification earlier this month, according to the news release. No further information about anyone else involved in Kim's death was provided.

"This case is still active and ongoing and we are moving forward with plans to test for additional DNA," a GBI spokesperson told Newsweek.

"There is still work to be done to solve the mystery surrounding Kim's death, and we will work relentlessly to bring justice and closure to her family," the GBI in its release.

Details of Investigation

Fingerprints and dental records from Kim were compared to other missing people around the country during the investigation.

A GBI forensic artist created a sketch of what they believed Kim, then still an unidentified person, might have looked like before it was shared with the public.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System opened a case into Kim's disappearance and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also created and shared a computer-generated sketch.

"As DNA technology advanced over the years, police resubmitted evidence to the GBI Crime Lab for additional testing," the GBI said. "Analysts found SNA on the items submitted, but the profiles obtained were not eligible for entry to the CODIS DNA Database."

CODIS is a national DNA database created by the FBI that contains profiles of convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence and missing persons.

The GBI is asking anyone who might have known Kim, or who has any information about the case to contact its office at 912-871-1121.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.