[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Lee Eunhae (32, female), who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial for the 'Valley Murder' case, was additionally sentenced to one year in prison for the charge of aiding and abetting a criminal.
Judge Lee Daero of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 8 sentenced Lee and her accomplice Cho Hyunsoo (31, male), who were indicted for aiding and abetting a criminal, to one year in prison each at the sentencing hearing held on the 15th.
Also, A (32, female), a middle school classmate of Lee who was indicted on the same charge, and her ex-boyfriend were each sentenced to four months in prison with a one-year probation.
The judge stated regarding Lee and Cho, "The defendants' actions were intended to help themselves escape, but it was different from ordinary evasion," and "It falls under the case of abuse of the right to defense and can be punished."
He added, "The crime was planned and carried out in an organized manner," and "Consideration was also given to the fact that they lived on the run for a long time," explaining the reasons for sentencing.
Lee and Cho were indicted on charges of asking two acquaintances, including B (33, male), to help them escape after disappearing ahead of the second prosecution investigation into the valley murder case in December 2021. Two others, including B, who were first indicted for aiding and abetting a criminal, were sentenced to one to two years in prison in the first trial last November.
Earlier, Lee was arrested and indicted along with her lover Cho for the murder of her husband Yoon (39 at the time of death) in June 2019 at Yongsogye Valley in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province. The prosecution judged that they killed Yoon, who could not swim, by forcing him to jump from a 4-meter-high rock into a 3-meter-deep valley pool without rescue equipment.
The court sentenced Lee to life imprisonment and Cho to 30 years in prison in October last year, and the appeal trial is currently underway.
At that time, the first trial court concluded the 'Valley Murder' case, which involved a legal battle over whether it was direct murder or not, as 'indirect murder.'
The court did not accept the prosecution's claim of 'active murder (direct murder)' by gaslighting (psychological control), but recognized the charge of 'murder by omission (indirect murder)' as guilty and ruled accordingly. Considering the planned method of the crime, the court sentenced them to a heavy penalty, stating that it should be punished at the same level as active murder.
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