20s Couple Who Killed 8-Year-Old Daughter Fully Denies Murder Intent
Court Recognizes Murder Intent... Sentences 30 Years Imprisonment
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The intentionality of the crime committed by a woman in her 20s and her stepfather, who abused and ultimately killed their 8-year-old daughter, was decisively established in court thanks to the testimony of their 9-year-old son who witnessed his younger sister's death.
It was revealed in court on the 22nd that the victim's 9-year-old older brother told police during an investigation, "On the day my sister died, after finishing remote classes, I came home and heard the sound of my sister falling while she was using the bathroom."
The Criminal Division 15 of Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Gyu-hoon) held a sentencing hearing on the 22nd and sentenced A (28, female) and her husband B (27, male), who were detained and indicted on charges including murder and habitual child abuse under the Child Welfare Act, to 30 years in prison each. The court also ordered them to complete a child abuse treatment program and prohibited them from working in child-related institutions for 10 years.
The couple had admitted to abusing their daughter during the trial but had completely denied any intent to kill.
In particular, A claimed, "Before my daughter died, I gave her a warm shower and wiped her off."
However, the victim's 9-year-old brother stated in four separate investigations, "Mom said, 'She wet herself again,' and I heard sounds of hitting 10 to 15 times," adding, "My sister, who took a shower in the bathroom, was crouching and trembling, and Mom did not wipe her off. Usually, Mom gave her cold showers."
He also recalled his sister's physical condition before her death, saying, "There were scabs falling off from my sister's buttocks and feet, and they were bleeding."
The court noted the son's testimony as "very detailed to the extent that it could not have been made up without direct experience," and stated, "He described the tools and methods of abuse very specifically, not only on the day of the incident but also regarding past abuse by the defendants."
Furthermore, the court said, "Such testimony matches the photos of the victim's wounds found on the defendants' mobile phones," and added, "Although the son was also subjected to some abuse by the defendants, it does not appear that he gave false testimony to ensure his parents receive harsher punishment."
Earlier, the couple A and B were detained and indicted on charges of abusing their 8-year-old daughter C to death by forcing her to eat feces and urine at a villa in Jung-gu, Incheon, on March 2.
C was found dead with bruises all over her face, arms, and legs, and was severely underweight to the point that malnutrition was suspected. She was 110 cm tall and weighed only 13 kg, which is more than 10 kg less than her peers, indicating severe underweight.
The autopsy report stated that "her entire body lacked flesh, exposing only bones, with no fat layer remaining, and her stomach and intestines were empty."
The couple began abusing C in January 2018 when she secretly ate jokbal (pig's trotters) under the blanket and discarded the bones, forcing her to stand facing the wall with her hands raised for an hour as punishment.
Subsequently, they physically abused her with fists and hangers for lying or toileting accidents, forced her to do push-up-like exercises, and abused her 35 times until early March this year. From August last year, they fed her plain rice without side dishes or starved her by withholding food and water for one or two days.
Two days before C's death, A did not give her any food or water and, when C urinated in the living room while still wearing clothes, A stripped her down to her underwear and gave her a cold shower. A did not properly dry her daughter’s body for two hours, and B, upon seeing C collapsed and motionless in the bathroom, reportedly played mobile games in the living room with their 9-year-old son.
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