"Please Tear Me Apart and Dry Me"... Husband Who Killed Wife with 1m 'Nippondo' Blamed Father-in-Law

A man in his 40s, Jang Mo, who killed his wife with a 1-meter-long Japanese sword in front of his father-in-law during an argument, was sent to the prosecution from the Gangseo Police Station in Gangseo-gu, Seoul on the 10th of last month.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A man in his 40s who killed his wife with a 1-meter-long Japanese sword in front of his father-in-law during an argument was revealed to have expressed resentment to his father-in-law the day after the crime, saying, "Why didn’t you stop me?"

Mr. Jang (49) stabbed and killed his wife, Ms. A, with a weapon at a villa in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, around 2 p.m. on September 3. At the time, Jang and Ms. A were undergoing a divorce lawsuit and had been living separately since May of this year.

According to MBC's 'True Story Expedition' broadcast on the 23rd, on the day of the incident, Ms. A visited the house with her father to pack clothes for their two daughters.

Ms. A then found out that the front door password had been changed and contacted Jang. After waiting for about an hour, she met Jang, who said he would open the door himself, and entered the house. Ms. A’s father reportedly had a bad feeling and left the door open.

After entering the house, Jang suddenly raised his voice at his wife Ms. A and came out of the room carrying a Japanese sword.

In an interview with 'True Story Expedition,' Ms. A’s father said, "(Jang) said about three sentences like 'Please withdraw the divorce lawsuit' and 'Why did you take the necklace?' then said, 'Damn it. I’ll kill you,' and went into the room."

He continued, "He pulled out the sword with a swishing sound. I said, 'Mr. Jang, what are you doing?' and tried to stop him," adding, "My daughter ran to the kitchen, but there was nowhere else to escape. He stabbed my daughter multiple times in an instant while she was leaning against something."

Shortly after the incident, nearby CCTV captured the father carrying the stabbed Ms. A out of the house. Ms. A’s father said, "I ran down as fast as I could, fearing he might chase me with the sword."

He also tearfully said, "Even as she was losing her breath, she said, 'Dad, what about our daughters?'"

Emergency services were dispatched after the father’s report, but Ms. A was in cardiac arrest. Ms. A’s body was covered with stab wounds and she died from excessive bleeding.

Jang was arrested at the scene on the day of the incident. On that day, he called Ms. A’s younger brother and said, "I don’t remember anything and don’t know what happened," adding, "That damn sword was visible, and when I was taking clothes out of the wardrobe, I just..."

It was also reported that the next day, he called Ms. A’s father and instead showed resentment, saying, "Father, why didn’t you stop me?"

Meanwhile, Jang was detained and indicted on charges including murder on the 28th of last month and was transferred to the prosecution on the 10th.