Wife Kills Husband Who Won First Prize in Lotto During Marital Fight with a Hammer... Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] A woman in her 50s was sentenced to a heavy prison term for killing her husband by hitting him with a hammer during a marital dispute.

The Changwon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-hyun) sentenced housewife A (52) to 12 years in prison on the 7th on charges of murder.

The court stated, "The act of killing a spouse with whom one has a marital bond fundamentally destroys the legal and moral responsibilities based on the marriage relationship, and thus requires severe punishment."

During the trial, A claimed that she swung the hammer after taking it away from her husband, who threatened her with it during an argument, asserting self-defense or excessive self-defense.

Under criminal law, if self-defense is recognized, the illegality is excused and a not guilty verdict is rendered. If the defensive act exceeds the scope of self-defense, illegality is not excused, but responsibility may be reduced or exempted, leading to a reduced or waived sentence.

However, the court did not accept A's claims.

Considering that A continued to strike her unconscious husband with the hammer, the court judged that the act was committed with the intent to kill rather than as a defensive act.

A was arrested and indicted on charges of killing her husband by hitting his head about 20 times with a hammer after biting his hand to take the hammer away when he threatened her with it during an argument on December 23 last year at their home, over the issue of him buying land without consulting her.

The couple, who ran a street stall to make a living, reportedly experienced frequent conflicts after A's husband won the first prize in the lottery in January last year and received 780 million won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.