40s Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in First Trial for 'Mother and Son Murder' in Dongjak-gu, Seoul

Fled with Mistress After Killing Mother
Court: "No Remorse Immediately After Murder"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] A man in his 40s who strangled his elderly mother in her 60s and his teenage son to death and then abandoned their bodies in a wardrobe was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial.

The Criminal Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Son Dong-hwan) sentenced Heo Mo (41), who was indicted on charges including parricide, to life imprisonment and ordered him to wear an electronic monitoring device for 25 years on the 11th. The court stated, "Heo consistently showed no remorse, spending entertainment expenses with his mother’s card immediately after the murder, raising doubts about whether he sincerely reflects on his crime," and pointed out, "The victims had to end their lives without resistance in fear." However, the court added, "The defendant, fearing that his crime would be discovered, attempted to kill Han Mo (43), his mistress, but only succeeded in an attempt," and said, "The fact that the crime was only attempted and that Heo’s older brother is pleading for leniency were taken into consideration as mitigating factors."

The court judged that Heo has a high risk of reoffending. He was previously sentenced to five years in prison in 2013 for strangling a man in his 60s while intoxicated. The court stated, "Considering that the method and target of the crime Heo committed in the past are similar to this case and that he committed crimes against three victims over three months, the risk of reoffending is assessed as high."

Heo is accused of killing his mother A (68) and son B (10) at his home in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, in 2018, and hiding their bodies in a wardrobe. It was investigated that after asking his mother for money to live separately from Han and being refused, he strangled his mother to death and also killed his sleeping son. The prosecution demanded the death penalty at the sentencing hearing on the 6th of last month, stating, "Life imprisonment with parole eligibility is absolutely unacceptable."

Heo claimed he was in a state of diminished mental capacity at the time of the crime. However, the court did not accept his claim, stating, "As a result of the psychiatric evaluation, no significant mental illness was found in Heo, only antisocial personality traits were confirmed."

Meanwhile, Han, who was indicted on charges of aiding Heo’s escape (harboring a criminal), was sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year probation after some charges were acknowledged. Han is accused of fleeing together with Heo after becoming aware of the murders.

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