[Summary] Mother Detained for Leaving 3-Year-Old Daughter Alone While Staying Out Overnight with Boyfriend, Resulting in Child's Death

Left daughter unattended causing death while staying out overnight to meet boyfriend
Reported to 119 on the 7th after seeing daughter's body but still neglected

Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The police have requested an arrest warrant for a woman in her 30s who left her 3-year-old daughter unattended to death while staying out overnight to meet her boyfriend. It was revealed that the woman, after discovering her deceased daughter, hid at her boyfriend's house without reporting the body and only reported it belatedly.

The Women's and Juvenile Investigation Unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 9th that they have applied for an arrest warrant for A (32), who was urgently arrested on charges of child abuse resulting in death under the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes and habitual abandonment and neglect under the Child Welfare Act.

A is suspected of leaving her daughter B (3) unattended at a villa in Namdong-gu, Incheon, leading to the child's death.

According to the police investigation, A stayed out overnight from the end of last month to the beginning of this month and discovered her deceased daughter upon returning home. It was reported that A frequently stayed out overnight to meet her boyfriend, leaving her daughter alone at home.

After discovering the deceased B, A left the house again without taking any action such as calling 119 (emergency services) and hid at her boyfriend's house for several days. It is known that she did not inform her boyfriend about her daughter's death.

Later, on the 7th, A returned to the house where her daughter's body was and called 119 at around 3:40 p.m., saying, "The child is not breathing." When paramedics arrived, she lied, hiding the fact that she had left the body unattended, saying, "I went out while the child was sleeping, and when I came back, she was dead." It was reported that when the paramedics arrived, the body was decomposed to the point of emitting a strong odor.

The National Forensic Service stated that it is difficult to confirm the exact time of death of Person B. / Photo by Yonhap News

The National Forensic Service (NFS) conducted an autopsy on B's body that day and gave a preliminary verbal opinion to the police stating, "There are no fractures or internal bleeding, but death due to trauma cannot be ruled out."

However, regarding the exact time of death, they explained, "It is impossible to confirm the estimated time of death," and "There is no way to verify whether death was caused by high temperature." The police estimate that B died at the end of last month or the beginning of this month, but A has been uncooperative in the investigation, changing her statements related to the case.

During the police investigation, A stated, "Last year, I sent the child to daycare for a few months, but after the child became sick, I stopped sending her," and "I went out leaving the child alone, and when I came back, she was not breathing."

Regarding why she returned home and called 119 on the 7th, she said, "I was scared and left the house, but I thought I should report it, so I gathered courage and went back home."

Meanwhile, A, an unmarried mother, is a single-parent family member and a basic livelihood security recipient. It was confirmed that she has been under case management by the local district office for three years since April 2019.

A's pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) is scheduled to be held as early as the 10th at the Incheon District Court.