Only Folk Remedies and Prayer for Terminally Ill Wife... Husband in His 70s Gets 7 Years Again on Appeal

Court States "The Defendant's Culpability Is by No Means Light"

A man in his 70s, who was put on trial for killing his terminally ill wife, was sentenced to seven years in prison again in the appellate court.

On May 21, the Criminal Division 2-2 of the Suwon High Court (presiding judges Kim Jongwoo, Park Kwangseo, and Kim Minki) dismissed the defendant's appeal and upheld the original verdict in the appellate trial of Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of murder. The first trial had sentenced Mr. A to seven years in prison.

The appellate court stated, "The defendant did not attempt to treat his spouse through folk remedies or prayer, nor did he make any other efforts to provide care." The court pointed out, "All he did was visit the emergency room to check her condition when her health had become irreversibly poor." The court further explained, "This case is somewhat different from other so-called 'caregiver murder' cases," as the reason for dismissing the appeal.

Mr. A was charged with killing his wife, Ms. B, who was in her 60s, at their residence in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, at around 12:23 a.m. on October 2 last year. Ms. B was transferred to the hospital's intensive care unit for treatment but ultimately died later that night. Investigations revealed that Mr. A committed the crime because he found it increasingly difficult to continue caring for Ms. B after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in August last year.

The first trial court stated, "Although it is favorable to the defendant that he turned himself in by reporting the crime to 112 immediately after the incident, that the victim had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was likely suffering from physical pain, and that both the defendant and the victim had no significant assets and, due to their advanced age, were unable to work and likely had difficulty affording hospital expenses, the defendant's culpability is by no means light."