50-Year-Old Man Who Killed Cousin Couple in Front of Children Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Second Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A man in his 50s who was sentenced to 40 years in prison in the first trial for brutally murdering his cousin's husband in front of his nephews over financial disputes was sentenced to life imprisonment in the appellate court.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Choi Suhwan, Choi Seongbo, and Jung Hyunmi) overturned the first trial that sentenced Cha Mo (50, male), who was indicted while in custody for murder, to 40 years in prison and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Cha is accused of breaking into the house of his cousin A on the early morning of August 2 last year and killing A and his spouse by hitting and stabbing multiple parts of their bodies with weapons he had prepared in advance. It is known that A's children witnessed the crime and tried to stop it.

Cha had moved to a site container near A's house in Paju from February last year after receiving an offer from A to serve as the site manager for a country house development project with a monthly salary of over 2.5 million won. However, as the project did not proceed properly, Cha lived in the container for about four months while eating and lodging at a restaurant, receiving only about 3 million won as living expenses instead of a salary.

In the first trial, the court sentenced him to 40 years in prison, but Cha appealed, claiming the punishment was too harsh, while the prosecution also appealed, arguing it was too light.

On this day, the appellate court stated, "Considering various circumstances, the 40-year sentence given by the first trial is not too heavy but rather too light and therefore inappropriate," and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court added, "The defendant brutally murdered the victim couple by stabbing and hitting them with weapons purchased in advance in front of their children. The psychological trauma suffered by the victim's children is expected to be difficult to heal for a lifetime, and they are currently undergoing psychiatric treatment and cannot sleep without sleeping pills, making normal social life difficult."