Yahoo Finance Man nabbed over murder of Felicia Teo, teen who vanished in 2007
SINGAPORE — Police have arrested a 35-year-old man whom they suspect of killing a then 19-year-old female student who went missing in 2007.
The suspect was apprehended on Tuesday (15 December) after a fresh review of the cold case by investigators uncovered new leads, said the police in a statement.
The fresh evidence was the result of officers tracing the belongings of Felicia Teo Wei Ling alias Gaia, which were believed to have been with her at the time of her disappearance on 30 June 2007.
He will be charged with Teo’s murder on Tuesday. According to the police, Teo died prior to her mother reporting her disappearance on 3 July 2007. The suspect allegedly disposed of Teo’s body along with a male friend.
Victim visited flat after party
Teo was last seen on 30 June 2007 at the Marine Terrace flat of the suspect’s aforementioned male friend. Past media reports said she visited the flat following a party at the LaSalle College of the Arts campus.
Both the 35-year-old suspect and his friend were in the flat with Teo and said she left the home in a huff at around 2am after they complained about her mobile phone’s jarring ringtone.
The police said that officers interviewed the duo after Teo was reported missing and both men claimed that Teo had left the flat of her own volition. No incriminating evidence was found after a search of the flat.
While CCTV footage captured Teo entering a lift at the block with two men to go up, it did not catch her leaving the 10th-floor flat.
As the police did not find any evidence linking the two men to Teo’s disappearance, the case was classified as a missing person case and a police gazette was issued to locate her. A property gazette was also issued for properties believed to be in her possession when she was reported missing.
The police then carried out regular reviews of the case but no fresh leads turned up during checks of her bank accounts, social media accounts, travel records and e-mails, as well as interviews with family members.
During the police’s most recent review in July this year, the case was referred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) due to the length of time it had remained unresolved.
The CID managed to uncover new leads while tracing property belonging to Teo. Investigations also revealed that Teo had died before the police report was lodged by her mother.
If found guilty of murder, the suspect potentially faces the death penalty.
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