A woman in her 40s who beat her ex-husband to death in order to extort money for a shamanistic ritual, along with the shaman who ordered the crime, have each had their 30-year prison sentences upheld.
According to the legal community on the 19th, the Supreme Court's third division (Presiding Justice Lee Sukyeon) has finalized the lower court's ruling that sentenced individual A, who was tried on charges of robbery and murder, to 30 years in prison. The shaman, individual B, also in her 40s, who manipulated and incited A through gaslighting (psychological control), was likewise sentenced to 30 years in prison. The daughter, individual C, who pretended to be possessed under the shaman's instructions and participated in the assault on her father, received a 10-year sentence, which was also confirmed.
The three were brought to trial for beating A's ex-husband, individual D, to death at a house in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on May 9 last year. Another child who participated in the assault was not prosecuted, as they were a minor and classified as a juvenile under the law.
A and D became devoted followers of a shaman they met in October 2017, who was running a fortune-telling business. After their divorce, A lived with her children at B's house. Prior to the crime, they had demanded money from D, claiming it was needed for a shamanistic ritual to address the children's health issues, which they attributed to spiritual causes.
When D refused to provide the money, they resorted to violence. Investigations revealed that the defendants assaulted the victim more than 500 times over six days. Ultimately, D died from multiple injuries sustained to various parts of his body.
In the first trial, A and B were sentenced to life imprisonment, while daughter C received a 10-year sentence. However, the appellate court reduced A and B's sentences to 30 years in prison, citing factors such as the immediate 112 emergency call made after the victim's death and the lack of prior convictions for violent crimes, concluding that there was some possibility for rehabilitation.
The Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court's judgment and dismissed the defendants' appeal.
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