The gruesome details of a crime by a man in his 30s who killed the woman he was living with and hid her body for 3 years and 6 months while managing it to prevent decay have been revealed through the written judgment.
According to the Incheon District Court on the 23rd, a person identified as A, who was indicted on charges of murder and concealment of a corpse, was sentenced to 27 years in prison at the first trial. A was found to have concealed the crime in a grotesque manner, such as burning incense to block the odor of decomposition and spraying insecticide to kill maggots.
In Oct. 2015, A, who was working as a clerk at a store in Japan, first met a woman in her 30s identified as B. B divorced her husband in 2006 and was raising her son alone. As their relationship deepened, the two began living together in a studio apartment in early 2016, but the following year A was caught for unlawful stay and was deported to Korea.
A became obsessed with B, who was separated from A, and contacted her acquaintances multiple times. Avoiding the persistent contact, B entered Korea in Feb. 2018 to visit her ailing mother. A seized B's passport and forced cohabitation, and the two resumed living together in a studio apartment in Incheon in a de facto marital relationship.
With her resident registration canceled, B could not even open a bank account or activate a mobile phone and lived under A's strict control. A prevented B from contacting even her family and gave her cash only when she needed living expenses. B's older sister filed a missing person report and barely managed to reach B, but contact was cut off again due to A's interference. B eventually became completely isolated.
The case unfolded when A was brought to trial for a 300 million won fraud. On Jan. 10, 2021, the day before the first-trial verdict, A strangled B to death in a quarrel after becoming enraged at B's words, "I will go see my son."
After the crime, A left the body in the studio while maintaining the lease and managed the condition of the remains. A sprayed water mixed with detergent and air freshener, kept the air conditioner and fan running at all times to block odors, and showed meticulousness by killing maggots that appeared on the body with insecticide.
During this period, A led a double life, meeting a new woman and having a daughter, but was ultimately caught after being detained again on fraud charges in June last year, making it impossible to continue managing the body.
The 14th Criminal Division of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Son Seung-beom) said, "The conduct of leaving and concealing the victim's body for a long period is so horrific and vicious that it appears to trample on human dignity," and ordered 27 years in prison along with the attachment of an electronic anklet for 15 years after release.
A key basis for sentencing was that the victim, even after death, was confined at the crime scene and left alone, unable to return to family. A has appealed the first-trial ruling, filing a notice of appeal on the 19th.