Death will happen to everybody. The question is: death comes differently for different people.
Some people may die in peace, in the comfort of their bed, with their loved ones right beside them. Some people may die because of sickness, and many other reasons. And some people, may die because of a murder.
Byun Ah-yeong, also known as BJ Ahyeong, was a social media influencer and also a frequent online livestreamer. She lived a colorful life, before her unfortunate death in Cambodia on June 6, 2023.
Her dead body was found wrapped in a red mat and dumped in a pond, on the outskirts of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.
Ahyeong had a colorful and diverse life before her death, and that she only wanted to live like normal, just like everyone else.
Born in 1990, Ahyeong debuted a streamer on AfreecaTV, a South Korean video streaming service, where she used the stage name BJ Ahyeong. She used the name "BJ" because it stands for "Broadcast Jockey," a frequently used term for people who livestream content to online viewers.
Besides known for her singing talent, Ahyeong had a glamorous appearance, and a cheerful personality, and that she brought that to her social media persona.
With more than 150,000 followers on AfreecaTV and more than 260,000 followers on Instagram, the woman was quite popular.
And indeed, she was quite popular that she was stepping away from her public appearances to "live as a normal person."
The frequent traveler chose Cambodia as her getaway.
She moved to Cambodia in April 2023 and stayed there until her death.
One day, a deceased person was found wrapped in red mat, dumped near Borey in Kandal Stung district, in Chhma Puon village.
The first people who discovered the body, were villagers who happened to walked near a manhole in the village.
After reporting it to the police, and following an inspection, the police concluded that the woman must've been murdered.
Lt. Gen. Neth Savoeun, National Police Commissioner, and Lt. Gen. Neng Chuor, director of the Criminal Police Department, ordered a search and crackdown. They received help from Brigadier General Hun Moniroth and Lt. Col. Hem Bona, deputy chiefs.
The Criminal Police Department then led the specialized force of the Criminal Police Department in collaboration with the Kandal Provincial Police and the Phnom Penh Municipal Police to solve the case and find the killers.
It didn't take long until the police arrested two suspects: Lai Wenshao, a 30-years-old man, and a husband of Cai Huijuan, a 39-years-old woman.
The Cambodian police arrested the two after finding their fingerprints all over the red mat.
The Chinese couple ran a beauty clinic in Phnom Penh.
According to reports, they claimed that she died of a seizure while receiving treatment at their clinic. The suspect said that BJ Ahyeong went to their clinic for intravenous fluids and serum injections on June 4th.
However, during the procedure, she suddenly had a convulsion and stopped breathing.
The couple the used their privately-owned Toyota car to transport and dispose of the body.
They said they abandoned her body after she showed no sign of life after the medical incident done at the clinic.
While both suspects admitted to the act of dumping Byun Ah Yeong’s body, the couple denied killing the Korean girl.
However, this was proven a lie, because an autopsy conducted on the deceased had bruises all over hear body, and also a broken neck.
She also had burns in some parts of her body.
The postmortem concluded that Ahyeong must've been beaten, if not tortured. But what's certain, she was abused before she died
Because of this, the prosecutors accused the couple of "murder accompanied by torture" and they shall face life imprisonment if convicted.
Following the news, a spokesperson for Korea's Foreign Ministry said that the ministry was "providing necessary consular assistance to the bereaved family."
And soon after, many of her fans and friends expressed their grief and anger over her death on social media.
Byun Ah-yeong was only 33-years-old when she died.