MAN KILLED OVER APARTMENT WALL NOISE

[Anchor Lead]

Noise disputes between neighbors are turning into deadly incidents. A man in his 20s murdered his next-door neighbor. The two apparently engaged in frequent fights over noise coming through walls.

[Pkg]

A studio apartment building in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do Province. A man in his 20s who lives on the fourth floor was apprehended by police two days ago.

[Soundbite] (Resident (VOICE MODIFIED)) : "I only heard that police came because there was a fight between a man in his 20s and another man in his 40s."

The man is being charged with strangling to death his neighbor in his 40s at 10 p.m. last Friday. It's been found that the two often engaged in fights over noise in this corridor-type apartment with 30 households living on the same floor. There was an altercation on the day of the deadly incident as well. The suspect reportedly dragged his neighbor to his apartment and murdered the victim there. The day after the incident, he visited a nearby police station at 7:45 p.m. to confess to "having killed someone." The suspect testified that he decided to confess because he was afraid his crime would eventually be discovered. The dead man was found in the suspect's bathroom. Police believe the suspect attempted to erase CCTV footage recorded in the corridor. They are investigating how he committed the crime. Police have requested an arrest warrant on the charge of murder. Statistics on apartment noise coming through walls are almost non-existent. Last year alone, more than 40-thousand inquiries were received related to apartment noise.