"Claimed 'Killed Because of Domestic Violence' Was False"
Three Days Before Death, the Deceased Wrote "I Gain Strength When I See My Wife"
The prosecution has demanded a life sentence for a wife accused of brutally murdering the head of the household in collusion with her teenage son and falsely testifying during the investigation that her husband was a habitual domestic violence offender.
According to Yonhap News on the 20th, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office requested the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 12 (Presiding Judge Na Sang-hoon) to sentence A (43) to life imprisonment and her son B (16) to 20 years in prison during the sentencing trial for the case of killing a family member.
The prosecution stated, "A administered herbicide, hypnotic sedatives, and psychotropic drugs to her husband, stabbed him in the chest with a syringe filled with antifreeze, and then struck him with a blunt weapon to kill him," adding, "She planned and executed the cruel murder method with her son and even defamed the deceased by falsely claiming he was a habitual domestic violence offender," explaining the reason for the sentence request.
A was tried on charges of killing her husband C (50) at their home on October 8 last year, together with her then 15-year-old son B. A stabbed C near his heart with a syringe filled with antifreeze while he was asleep. When C woke up and resisted, B stabbed C multiple times with a knife, and A struck C's head with a blunt weapon. B is also charged with mutilating the corpse by moving C's body to the bathroom and washing it with a knife.
The mother and son had harmed C several times before the murder. On September 18 of the same year, they had an argument over business failure, during which A threw a soju bottle at C, injuring him. Two days later, on September 20, they stabbed C's eye with a syringe filled with soju while he was sleeping.
During police investigation, B claimed, "My father's domestic violence was severe, and on the day of the incident, I killed him impulsively while trying to stop him from hitting my mother." A, who was a witness at the time, also testified that "my husband often drank, cursed, and assaulted us."
However, as the truth of the case was revealed through forensic analysis of mobile phones and autopsy, B admitted to false testimony, saying, "I was hit a few times on the shin. I exaggerated to make my father look like a bad person."
A, who has a level 3 speech disability, is known to have planned the crime due to dissatisfaction with the difficult family situation caused by business failure and her husband's belittling of her speech disability. A involved her son, who was already resentful toward his father, in the crime. After killing the head of the household, the mother and son loaded the body into a car and went to A's parental home for help with funeral arrangements, then returned to their residence the next day and reported to the police, saying, "My husband is not breathing."
The deceased C was revealed to have protected his wife and son until the end despite being attacked multiple times by them. Three days before his death, C wrote in a notebook that although he was still in pain due to impaired vision after an eye injury, he gained strength when he saw his wife and child. When receiving ophthalmologic treatment, he told the doctor it was a "branch injury," and he told his younger sister it was a solitary accident.
Even after being stabbed with a weapon, he said, "My son must not go to prison"
The prosecution said, "According to A's statement, the deceased said after being stabbed, 'My son must not go to prison. Take me to the hospital,'" adding, "Although he was anxious that his wife might hurt him again, he seemed to have affection for his wife and son until the end."
During the witness examination that day, C's mother wept, saying, "No matter how many times I think about it, I don't understand why my son had to die." She added, "Seeing my daughter-in-law repeatedly submit letters of remorse to get a lighter sentence after turning my son into a murderer makes my blood boil," and "Thinking about how cruelly he was attacked by his beloved family makes me forget why I should live." It was reported that A has submitted letters of remorse to the court almost daily, 86 times since November 15 last year.
In her final statement, A said, "I humbly and sincerely apologize to my in-laws," and "I should have borne the family's misfortune alone, but I am sorry for causing pain to my son, and I sincerely regret it."
The sentencing trial will be held at 2 p.m. on the 14th of next month.
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