Missing professor found in Arizona landfill; suspects arrested in his car in Louisiana
07/25/2020 6:41 pm PDT
By Cydeni Carter, KNXV
SURPRISE, Ariz. (KNXV) -- The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has located the remains of missing Arizona State University Professor Junseok Chae at a landfill in Surprise. Officials say they found the remains on July 17 after an extensive search at the landfill.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office began investigating after Chae went missing on March 25, and zeroed in on the Northwest Regional Landfill by March 29.
Shreveport, Louisiana police officers contacted MCSO detectives on March 30 in regards to a suspicious vehicle with 18-year-old Javian Ezell, 18-year-old Gabrielle Austin, and a third individual.
Officers say the car belonged to Chae and the three gave statements that led officers to believe Chae was the victim of a homicide. During the investigation, officers learned that Chae was killed near 7th Street and Carefree Highway and placed in a Dumpster by the suspects.
Ezell and Austin have been extradited to Arizona and are now in MCSO jail each on $1 million bonds. The two are facing first-degree murder, armed robbery and theft of means of transportation charges.
Junseok Chae was the Associate Dean for Research at ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and had been with the university since 2005.
Chae was reported missing after not returning home from work on March 25, according to the Arizona Republic, and law enforcement began searching for him on May 11.
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