"Please Kill Me" Woman Who Killed Friend Battling Cancer for 20 Years Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison

In the Will: "A Difficult Request... Unni Is Also a Victim"

Hospitalized. Not related to the article. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A woman in her 40s who committed murder at the request of a 20-year friend suffering from intractable cancer was given a reduced sentence in the appellate court.

According to the legal community on the 10th, the Gwangju High Court’s 2-3 Criminal Division (Chief Judge Park Jeong-hoon) overturned the original sentence of 2 years and 6 months imprisonment and sentenced A, who was charged with euthanasia, to 1 year imprisonment in the appeal trial.

A was prosecuted for strangling B, a woman in her 40s living together at A’s home in Gwangju on March 19 last year, at B’s request, and leaving the corpse unattended. A was also charged with two attempted murders of B in January last year.

They had worked together at the same workplace over 20 years ago and had a sister-like relationship, and since 2011, they lived together in one house. In 2014, B was diagnosed with cancer. B’s condition worsened over time, and there were many days when she could not sleep due to pain. Just before her death, her health deteriorated to the point where she could not control her bladder or bowels.

During her illness, B was financially dependent on A, and it was reported that her physical condition worsened to the extent that she could not control her excretion until just before her death.

Distressed B repeatedly asked A from early 2020, "I am in so much pain that I cannot live. Please kill me."

At the end of 2020, they went to the hospital together and were prescribed sleeping pills, after which they attempted the crime once. At that time, A tried to kill B while she was asleep after taking the medicine, but B woke up in the middle and told her to stop, resulting in an attempted murder.

Afterwards, A committed the crime again at B’s request and left B’s corpse unattended for 27 days before surrendering to the police on April 15 last year.

B’s will included the statement, "I made a difficult request to my sister (A). My sister is also a victim."

The first trial court sentenced A to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment in October last year, stating, "Although the defendant was not family, as a cohabitant who lived together for a long time, she should have tried to find a better way than euthanasia to relieve the victim’s pain."

However, the appellate court said, "Considering that the victim’s family pleaded for leniency and that the defendant had relatively well cared for the victim during her lifetime, the defendant’s claim that the original sentence was heavy is reasonable," and reduced the sentence. The court also took into account that the defendant surrendered herself and had no prior criminal record.