'Valley Murder' Lee Eun-hae and Jo Hyun-soo Sentenced to Life Imprisonment...Prosecution Says "Caught in Get-Rich-Quick Mentality" (3rd Report)

Defendants Lee Eun-hae and Jo Hyun-soo in the 'Valley Murder' case [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Life imprisonment was demanded for defendants Lee Eunhae (31) and Jo Hyunsoo (30) in the 'valley murder' case.

On the 30th, at the sentencing hearing held at the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 15 (Presiding Judge Lee Gyuhun), the prosecution demanded life imprisonment for Lee and Jo, who were indicted on charges including murder and attempted murder.

The prosecution also requested the court to order the attachment of electronic location tracking devices (electronic anklets) for 20 years, 5 years of probation, restrictions on going out during certain hours, and a ban on approaching the victim's family.

The prosecution stated, "The defendants planned a perfect crime by disguising it as an accident and killed the victim driven by a get-rich-quick mentality aiming for a large life insurance payout," adding "Severe punishment is necessary to uphold the sanctity of the right to life."

In their final defense, the joint lawyers for Lee and Jo argued, "After realizing the accident, Lee threw life jackets into the water, and Jo also wore goggles and tried to find Lee's husband," and questioned, "We want to ask what more could have been done."

They added, "This trial was conducted based on public opinion from the start without strong evidence to prove the charges. It is a wrongful trial."

Lee was arrested and indicted on charges including killing her husband A (39 years old at the time of death) on June 30, 2019, at 8:24 p.m. in Yongsogye Valley, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, together with her lover Jo.

The prosecution judged that they killed A, who could not swim, by forcing him to jump from a 4-meter-high rock into a valley pool 3 meters deep without rescue equipment.

They are also accused of attempting to kill A earlier in February and May 2019 by feeding him food mixed with pufferfish blood or drowning him in a fishing pond.

The prosecution concluded that they planned the crime aiming for the 800 million won life insurance policy taken out in A's name.

Lee and Jo disappeared before the prosecution's second investigation on December 14 last year and were caught by police in an officetel near Samsong Station in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, in April this year, four months later.