TEMPE, AZ — Homicide detectives believe they know who killed ASU Professor JunSeok Chae, sources tell ABC15.
Chae went missing in March. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office began investigating on March 25 and zeroed in on the Northwest Regional Landfill by March 29.
JunSeok Chae was the Associate Dean for Research at ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He had been with the university since 2005 and was beloved by his students. He also was an accomplished researcher, with four U.S. patents and dozens of published papers.
An ASU co-worker told ABC15 he was an incredibly kind man, a brilliant mind, and will be missed by everyone he knew.
Professor Chae spent his life answering complex questions.
Now complex questions surround his death, like who did this, how, and why?
Detectives believe they have answers to all those questions, but they first have to answer where. Where is Dr. Chae's body?
Sources tell ABC15 that is the main thing holding up the arrest of the suspect or suspects.
An employee at the landfill has watched as MCSO crews have methodically searched for weeks.
"They're just digging around, in spots that they think the professor is," said the employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job.
The employee is confident the body was unknowingly transported onto the property by a dump truck. He says detectives must have an idea of where in the Valley the body came from and on what day based on their targeted searching.
"Each truck is tracked with their dumpings. They put it in a log," he said, explaining why investigators have narrowed in on a certain section.
MCSO says they are not releasing more information at this time because no one is in custody and do not want to jeopardize the case.
