Biological Parents Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Killing and Abandoning 5-Day-Old Son

A common-law couple who killed their 5-day-old son and disposed of his body in a stream were sentenced to prison.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Tongyeong Branch of Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam sentenced the biological father in his 20s, Mr. A, and the biological mother in her 30s, Ms. B, each to 8 years in prison on charges including murder.

According to the court, Mr. A and others are suspects in the so-called ‘Geoje Infant Murder and Abandonment Case.’ They gave birth to baby C at a maternity hospital in Geoje on September 5 last year and were discharged four days later. They are accused of strangling the child to death at their residence.

Baby C’s body was stored in a refrigerator immediately after the murder and then discarded in a nearby stream the following early morning.

Police officers are searching for the body of an infant abandoned in the river.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Police Agency]

At the time of their arrest, they claimed, “We came home, slept, and when we woke up, the baby was dead,” and said they buried the body in a nearby mountain. However, during further investigation, they confessed to the crime.

They testified that they committed the crime due to financial difficulties and fear that their respective parents would find out about the birth and cause them to separate.

They also admitted that they planned and executed the crime starting three months before the birth by searching for infant murder cases online and scouting locations to abandon the body.

The police searched the site where the couple confessed to abandoning the body for several days, but Baby C’s body was never found.

The court stated, “The baby, who had no ability to protect himself, must have ended his life in extreme pain,” and added, “The crime of killing and abandoning the child without fulfilling parental responsibilities warrants severe punishment.”

It further explained the sentencing by saying, “However, they deeply regret and reflect on their crime, and the circumstances and reasons leading to the crime were taken into consideration.”

Earlier, on the 19th, the prosecution requested the court to sentence both to 15 years in prison, 5 years of probation, and 10 years of electronic monitoring.