Intellectually Disabled Person Left Unattended for 3 Hours Dies... Responsibility of the Intellectually Disabled Person Living Together? [Seocho-dong Legal Story]

"The defendant is also intellectually disabled. Nevertheless, it is judged that she cared for the victim, who was less fortunate than herself, with compassion and friendship by her side."

This was the statement made by the first trial court earlier this year to A (26, female), an intellectually disabled person who stood trial for neglecting B (25, female at the time of death), an intellectually disabled person living with her, resulting in B's death.

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On May 31, 2021, at 11:30 a.m., A, who had an appointment, left B alone at home and went out. Although A's IQ was relatively higher than B's, she herself was also severely intellectually disabled. Since 2019, B had been prescribed medication for mental health conditions and had been transported by 119 ambulance several times. That morning, B was foaming at the mouth while sleeping, so A checked B's condition by lifting her arm and confirming she was breathing before leaving the house. She thought B was just sleeping.

Three hours later, when A returned home, B was found with blood around her mouth and had stopped breathing. A called 119 and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) following instructions from the control center until paramedics arrived, but B ultimately passed away. The cause of death was acute drug intoxication.

The prosecution indicted A, stating, "Despite knowing B's poor health, she neglected her and went out, causing her death." A's defense argued, "She did not realize B was in a critical condition and did not expect her to die."

The first trial court acquitted A, stating, "There is no reason to believe the defendant knowingly left the victim in a critical state to die." This was a judgment considering the special relationship between the two.

B was raised by her grandmother during childhood and moved between care facilities and hospitals after her grandmother passed away. A, who was also intellectually disabled, reached out to B, who had nowhere else to go, saying, "Let's live together." They had known each other since high school special classes through B's younger sibling and were close friends with B, who was the friend's older sister. Since 2021, A rented an officetel in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, and lived there with B.

The first trial court stated, "The defendant usually accompanied the victim whenever she went to the hospital, and when going out, she turned on location sharing on her phone to check where the victim was," adding, "The defendant genuinely worried about the victim and made efforts such as calling 119 or taking her to the hospital whenever the victim was sick."

The prosecution appealed, but the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-1 (Presiding Judge Won Jong-chan) recently dismissed the appeal and upheld the original acquittal. The court ruled, "The deceased B also had the ability to seek help from others if her condition became urgent. The victim had previously called 119 herself," and "It cannot be ruled out that B took a large amount of medication on her own and died after A went out."