Mother who buried newborn daughter alive while watching elementary school son, reasons for reduced sentence in 2nd trial revealed...

Court: "Accidental Crime in Impoverished Situation"

A mother in her 40s who killed her newborn daughter by secretly burying her in front of her elementary school-aged son due to financial hardship was sentenced to three years in prison in the second trial. This is four years less than the seven-year sentence given in the first trial.

The court pointed out the inhumanity of the crime but also mentioned the defendant’s difficult childhood and the fact that she was raising her son alone while living in poverty in a welfare blind spot. It is also reported that the son’s repeated requests for leniency were taken into consideration.

A woman in her 40s accused of secretly burying her daughter who was one day old.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 5th, Yonhap News reported that the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-3 (Presiding Judges Lee Yesul, Jeong Jae-o, and Choi Eun-jung) overturned the original sentence of seven years imprisonment and sentenced A (45) to three years in prison on charges of murder and corpse abandonment.

A was arrested and prosecuted on charges of killing her 2-3 day-old daughter by secretly burying her in a pit in a vegetable garden owned by her stepfather in Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi Province, between 10 and 11 a.m. in August 2016. The crime was committed in front of her 11-year-old son at the time.

The court ruled, “A appears to have committed the crime impulsively out of fear that adoption procedures for the daughter were impossible and that if she continued to raise the daughter, her impoverished financial situation might prevent her from properly raising her son as well. It does not appear that she intended to kill from the beginning in a premeditated manner.”

It was also explained that she brought her son to the scene because she could not leave him alone at home for a long time during summer vacation, and there was no intention to emotionally abuse him. The court stated, “Rather, despite extremely difficult financial circumstances after giving birth to her daughter, she devotedly raised her son, and the son shows a strong bond with A and pleads for leniency.”

Furthermore, the court said, “Considering these factors, the first trial sentence was too heavy and unfair. It is necessary to impose a sentence lower than the recommended minimum of four years according to sentencing guidelines.” It added, “The defendant’s biological mother also expressed sympathy for the defendant and petitioned for leniency. The defendant is a first-time offender with no prior criminal record, admits to all charges in this case, and shows remorse.”

Meanwhile, it was investigated that A had been raising her son alone in financial difficulty after separating from her spouse. In the first trial, the son reportedly said, “I have tried to forget this incident since 2016. I was not harmed, but the investigative authorities made me a victim. Now that my mother is imprisoned, I have no one to rely on and it is hard to endure alone. I miss my mother.”