A public official in his 30s who went to the address listed in a divorce complaint and killed his wife in front of their young child after she had fled domestic violence has been handed over to prosecutors on a charge of retaliatory murder.
Gwangju Police Station in Gyeonggi on the morning of the 9th referred the detained suspect A to the prosecution on charges including violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (retaliatory murder), violating the Child Welfare Act (child abuse), violating the Act on the Punishment of Domestic Violence, and special residential intrusion.
A, whose face was covered with a black hat and mask, came out of Bundang Police Station, where the holding cell is located, and boarded a transport vehicle bound for the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch.
A gave no answers to reporters' questions, including, "Is it true you went to find your wife out of anger after receiving the divorce complaint?", "Did you have the intent to kill from the start?", and "Aren't you sorry to the child who witnessed the crime?"
Earlier, considering the wishes of the bereaved family and concerns about secondary harm to the young child, police decided not to disclose A's personal information, including the face and name.
A, an incumbent public official, is suspected of stabbing to death a wife who had fled domestic violence at a staircase of a multi-family housing unit in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, at about 7:17 a.m. on the 1st.
It was found that a young child was also at the scene at the time. Police also deemed the act of making the child witness the crime to constitute emotional abuse and applied a charge of violating the Child Welfare Act.
A police investigation found that A, fearing an unfavorable outcome in the divorce suit with the wife and harboring a grudge, went to the address of the wife's temporary residence listed in the divorce complaint.
It was reported that A had previously committed domestic violence several times and was under a temporary protection order from the court.
In a police interrogation, A said about the motive, "My anger exploded after receiving the divorce complaint."
Police determined that A committed the crime for the purpose of retaliation over the divorce suit and applied the charge of retaliatory murder under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, rather than simple murder.
The statutory penalty for retaliatory murder under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes is death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for at least 10 years. It is harsher than murder under the Criminal Act, which provides for death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for at least 5 years.
A is expected to be brought to trial after supplementary investigation by prosecutors.