 |
| © Provided by New York Daily News Junseok Chae, associate dean for research at ASU’s School of Engineering, was found in landfill in the city of Surprise, Arizona. |
By Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News
A pair of teenagers have been arrested in connection with the murder of a missing Arizona State University professor, who vanished on his way home from work back in March.
The desperate search for Junseok Chae, associate dean for research at ASU’s School of Engineering, ended in tragedy Friday, when authorities discovered his remains dumped in a landfill in the city of Surprise, NBC News reported.
Arizona’s Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in a statement said investigators believe Chae was killed in the suburban Phoenix area, not long after he was reported missing on March 25. Less than a week later authorities in Shreveport, La. were contacted about a a vehicle they later determined to belong to the professor, prompting investigators o speculate he’d been a victim of foul play.
The teen’s who were in possession of the vehicle, identified as Javian Ezell and Gabrielle Austin, were arrested following the discovery of the remains. They have since been extradicted to the Maricopa County Jail in Arizona, where they are facing charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery and theft of means of transportation charges.
The suspects, both 18, are being held on $1 million bonds.
While authorities have been combing through the Northwest Regional Landfill since May, they did not uncover any evidence of the professor until this week. They said they discovered “several items of evidence” where they believe Chae was murdered, and that his remains were moved from that spot and then placed in a dumpster.
“I continue to be impressed by the hard work of our deputies. Their perseverance in an extremely complex and demanding case will now allow the victim’s family closure to what has surely been a difficult period,” Sheriff Paul Penzone said in the statement to People.
“Investigative efforts to recover a body from a landfill are rarely successful.”
Chae, who has been published more than 150 times, joined the ASU faculty in 2005 after earning his undergraduate degree from Korea University in Seoul, and his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Michigan, according to the university’s website.
He has authored one book and holds four U.S. patents.
Read more at New York Daily News
