Victim's Friend "Attempted Revenge Porn... Threatened"
Visitation Note "Will Be Released in 10 Years... Love You Mom"
Kim Rea (26), who killed her lover for breaking up and also wielded a weapon against her mother, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial.
Kim Rea was indicted on charges of murder and attempted murder for wielding a weapon against her girlfriend and her mother at her residence in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, around 9:35 a.m. on March 25 this year, killing her girlfriend and causing serious injuries to the mother requiring at least 10 weeks of medical treatment. It was investigated that Kim Rea committed the crime after her girlfriend tried to break up, protesting against his previous violent behavior. The girlfriend sought help from her mother to end the relationship with Kim Rea but was attacked.
Isolating from acquaintances and even threats
There was also an attempt to separate the girlfriend from those around her. A friend of the victim, Ms. A, said in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 23rd, "My friend contacted me via KakaoTalk saying, 'I think I need to focus on my boyfriend, so I can't keep in touch,' less than a month after they started dating," adding, "I thought it was very strange." Furthermore, she said, "It seems Kim Rea tried to exploit videos of my friend's body as revenge porn," and lamented her departed friend, saying, "Kim Rea used to show my friend a doll’s belly being stabbed with a knife, saying 'I will stab and kill you like this' in front of her."
Claiming diminished responsibility and tearfully saying "Sorry to my dog"
In the first trial, Kim Rea claimed 'diminished responsibility,' stating that she had taken 2-3 tablets of Geborin and drank one bottle of soju at the time of the crime. She also said she had suffered from mental illness due to trauma experienced while searching for a missing person found deceased during her service as a police officer in 2021. However, the National Forensic Hospital issued an opinion stating, "At the time of the incident, diminished responsibility or reality testing and judgment appeared to be intact."
In a recorded conversation between Kim Rea and her parents in the detention center, released by the prosecution, Kim Rea said, "I just need to live for 10 years and then get out. Let's live happily after I get out. I love you, Mom." In her final statement, she said, "I am sorry to my family and ○○." When the court asked, "Who is ○○?" Kim Rea replied, "My dog." When the court asked again, "Are you sorry even to your dog?" Kim Rea nodded tearfully.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
