South Korean police will refer a North Korean defector to prosecutors for allegedly killing her younger brother, pointing to financial hardship as a suspected motive.

A Busan Metropolitan Police spokesperson told NK News on Tuesday that the unnamed defector in her 50s is scheduled to be referred to prosecutors this week after further investigation. She was arrested on murder charges last month.

The incident took place at an apartment in the southern coastal city of Busan on Aug. 29.

Police allege that the suspect used sleeping pills to put her brother to sleep before strangling him to death. The incident