Court documents in the murder of 35-year-old Hannah Choi allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend Joel Merino detail the evidence police in Alexandria, VA have pieced together.
The documents obtained by both WUSA and WJLA indicate a person who came to stage Choi’s home found the basement door open and Choi missing. She also discovered a bloody mattress and missing bedsheets.
Inside a car used by Merino investigators found the beddding, blood on the carpet, and a bottle of cleaner outside the car door. The vehicle had the strong odor of cleaning solution
Police believe Merino killed Choi and disposed of her body which a passerby found at Piscataway Park in Maryland late last month.
Authorities believe the suspect had fled the state, but may have returned to Virginia.
“He’s actively wanted for murder, so use caution,” Ed O’Carroll said of the Fairfax County Police Department. “If you know his whereabouts call 911 immediately notify law enforcement right away.”
ABC7 reports that police believe Merino had spent time in Piscataway Park both the night and the following morning of her disappearance. Cell phone pings also placed him in the park.
According to WUSA, Merino’s nephew allegedly told police that he had an argument with Choi, had been drunk and hit her and didn’t know what to do.
The two who had lived together had recently broken up. They had a final farewell dinner the night Choi is believed to have been killed and before Merino had been scheduled to leave the state.
Wednesday was the one-month anniversary of when the family first learned she had disappeared.
“She tried so hard to help people and he must have known that,” Hannah Choi’s sister, Minna Choo, said recently. “Just you know there’s no reason for any kind of violence like that and also why in the world did he have to dispose of her body and not let the family have a little closure.”
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