Husband Sentenced to 23 Years for Throwing Stones and Killing Wife by Drowning in the Sea: "Premeditated Crime"

A husband who threw his wife into the sea and then killed her by throwing stones in front of Jamjindo, Incheon, was sentenced to a heavy prison term.

The Criminal Division 14 of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Ryu Kyung-jin) sentenced A (30), who was detained and indicted on charges of murder, to 23 years in prison at the sentencing hearing held on the 21st.

The court stated, "The defendant claims that 'he suddenly got angry and committed the crime impulsively while talking with his wife on the way to go fishing,' but the evidence shows that he searched the tide times on his phone just before the crime, and after pushing the victim into the sea, he had another chance to save her but instead threw stones to kill her."

It added, "He planned the crime to disguise it as an accidental fall by sending KakaoTalk messages, which shows the gravity of the offense is severe," and "Although the defendant has belatedly reflected on his crime, the court considered the victim’s family’s plea for severe punishment," explaining the sentencing rationale.

The Coast Guard is conducting an on-site inspection of Mr. A, a man in his 30s accused of drowning his wife in the sea and throwing stones to kill her at the Jamjindo embankment in Deokgyo-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon. July 19, 2023.
Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, at the sentencing hearing held in October, the prosecution demanded 30 years in prison for A, stating, "The defendant said the crime was due to domestic discord, but the ultimate cause was the defendant’s affair."

A was indicted on charges of pushing his wife B, in her 30s, into the sea at the Jamjindo embankment in Jung-gu, Incheon, around 2:40 a.m. on July 15, and then killing her by throwing stones to prevent her from coming out.

On the day of the crime, A lied to 119 emergency services, saying, "I came to Jamjindo to go fishing," and "While I went to get some things from the car, my wife was drifting away in the sea." However, when the coast guard presented evidence of the crime, he admitted the charges, saying, "There was discord with my wife," and "I thought it was impossible to live together anymore, so I committed the crime."