Called a thief with insults and assault leading to accidental murder
Court: "Crime with mitigating motives"
2nd trial also sentences 7 years in prison
A son who lived with his father, who had murdered his mother, for 30 years, and then killed his father in his 80s after a dispute, was sentenced to seven years in prison.
According to MBN and others, on the 1st, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judges Lee Won-beom, Han Ki-soo, Nam Woo-hyun) sentenced A (62), who was indicted for killing a direct ascendant, to seven years in prison, the same as the first trial.
Last October, at his residence in Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, A got into a verbal altercation with his father B (85), who was angry that A could not find the item he was looking for and verbally abused him with phrases like "thief, get out of the house."
When B even hit him on the head, A, who had consumed alcohol with breakfast, became enraged, pushed his father down, and then killed him with a kitchen knife. After the crime, A surrendered himself and was brought to trial.
Generally, sentences for killing a direct ascendant are aggravated, but the court found mitigating circumstances in A’s situation.
The first trial pointed out, "In 1988, B, the father, had a criminal record for killing his wife, who was A’s mother."
It continued, "Although B killed his wife, A did not abandon his duty of support and lived with him for about 30 years," adding, "He even gave up marriage and supported B’s living expenses and meals with his own earnings."
The court judged, "The crime appears to have been committed impulsively after B insulted A without reason, accusing him of stealing items, and threw a laptop, which A cherished as a gift from a nephew he cared for like a child, hitting the defendant."
However, the court sentenced A to seven years in prison, stating, "Killing one’s father is an unforgivable, unfilial, and antisocial crime, and it is difficult to see that B’s verbal abuse or assault was enough to provoke murder." This is the minimum sentence for the crime of killing a direct ascendant.
The prosecution appealed, arguing the sentence was too light, but the appellate court upheld the first trial’s ruling.
The appellate court stated the reason for dismissing the appeal: "Immediately after the crime, A surrendered to the authorities and promptly called 119 to request aid for the victim," adding, "Even the victim’s children and grandchildren pleaded repeatedly for leniency toward A, revealing the unfortunate family circumstances, which is also a factor to consider."
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