70-Year-Old Sentenced to 25 Years for Rape and Murder After Drugging Victim's Drink with Sleeping Pills

A man in his 70s who was prosecuted for killing a woman in her 50s by giving her sleeping pills at a motel was sentenced to a heavy prison term.

On the 24th, the Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Doseong) sentenced Jo (75), who was detained and indicted on charges including rape and murder, to 25 years in prison, ordered him to complete 80 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, and placed him under probation for 5 years.

The court stated the sentencing reasons, saying, "The defendant disregarded life by continuously administering sleeping pills to the victim despite her severe health deterioration to satisfy his sexual desire and failing to take protective measures. Nevertheless, he showed an attitude of evading responsibility, so punishment commensurate with his guilt is necessary."

However, the court considered as mitigating factors that Jo did not intend rape and murder from the beginning and his advanced age.

Jo is accused of staying at a motel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, with the female victim from March 29 to April 3, mixing sleeping pills into her drink to sexually assault her, which resulted in her death. It was reported that the amount of sleeping pills the victim ingested was equivalent to up to a two-week dosage. The victim was found dead in the motel room by the motel owner on April 3, and the police urgently arrested Jo the next day in Cheongju, Chungbuk, after he fled.