GRUESOME details of how a woman's body was discovered dumped in a suitcase in a country lane near York have been revealed at the trial of the man accused of killing her.

Kyu Soo Kim, 32, is accused of murdering fellow South Korean students Hyo Jung Jin, 21, and In Hea Song, 22, to whom he had let accommodation in London.

The jury heard how the suitcase was first seen in a lane, which runs between The Buckles Inn on the A64 and the village of Askham Richard, by a Mr Overton, a pub barman, on November 2, 2001. He had tried to lift the case, but found it too heavy.

He later mentioned it to a friend who was a policeman in another district, who advised him to report it to the local police. He did not, but, said the prosecution, he had no idea what was inside.

The suitcase was seen by others using the lane, but police were not alerted until November 18.

Paul Barlow spotted the case on November 17 as he walked down the road to catch a bus and returned to the spot on his bicycle the following day to investigate.

He tried to lift it, but found it too heavy and was unable to open it. He then called the police. A PC Champion went to the scene and noticed "a strong decaying-type smell" when he moved the case from the ditch to the road.

The case was then opened slightly and, said Mr Laidlaw: "They saw hair and what appeared to be an eye. There was blood around the edges of the case. The grisly nature of the contents of the case became clear when, by partly forcing it open, human feet could be seen inside."

A murder inquiry was launched by North Yorkshire Police and the suitcase was taken to the mortuary at York Hospital where it was opened to reveal the body of Miss Jin in a foetal position, bound and gagged with tape. Kim denies murdering both women, but he has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Miss Song. The prosecution has not accepted his manslaughter plea.

The trial heard that Kim had hired a blue Peugeot 406 after he is alleged to have suffocated Miss Jin to death by gagging her with lengths of packing tape. Analysis of mobile phone cells showed him heading north on the M1.

Mr Laidlaw said: "We have the defendant driving to North Yorkshire with Miss Jin's body in the suitcase in the back of that vehicle five days after her disappearance and killing."

The trial continues.

Updated: 11:22 Thursday, March 06, 2003