Woman Imprisoned and Murdered with Travel Bag in Cheonan Sentenced to 25 Years in Appeal (Comprehensive)

Sentence increased by 3 years from 22 years in 1st trial
Intent of murder recognized in 2nd trial as well
Court: "Cruelty beyond imagination"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A woman in her 40s who was arrested and indicted for confining her live-in partner's 9-year-old son in a travel bag for nearly 7 hours, causing his death, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the appellate court. The sentence increased by 3 years compared to the first trial.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Daejeon High Court (Chief Judge Junmyeong Lee) sentenced A (41) to 25 years in prison on the morning of the 29th for charges including murder and violation of the Child Welfare Act. Previously, the first trial had sentenced A to 22 years in prison, recognizing the implied intent of murder. A appealed the ruling. It was reported that during the appellate trial, A submitted about 10 letters of apology and pleas for leniency. However, the appellate court also recognized A's intent to murder and reached this conclusion.

The court stated, "The defendant was aware, even if uncertainly, that her actions could lead to the victim's death," and added, "We cannot accept the defendant's claim that this was child abuse resulting in death rather than murder." Furthermore, "This crime is so vicious and cruel that ordinary people cannot even imagine it," and "The court members, as humans, parents, and citizens, were distressed throughout the case review, but we had the duty to uphold the fundamental principles of criminal law and examined the case as objectively as possible," the court added.

A was arrested and indicted on charges of confining B, the live-in partner's son, in a travel bag (width 50 cm, height 71.5 cm, depth 29 cm) for about 3 hours and then in a smaller bag (width 44 cm, height 60 cm, depth 24 cm) for nearly 4 hours at an apartment in Cheonan, Chungnam, around noon on June 1 last year, ultimately causing his death from 'hypoxic brain injury.' During the confinement, B repeatedly complained of difficulty breathing, but instead of releasing him, A was found to have jumped on the bag and even blown hot air from a hairdryer into it.

The prosecution applied murder charges to the case, which had been transferred by the police on charges of child abuse resulting in death. At the time of announcing the investigation results, the prosecution stated, "After closely examining the fact that A confined the victim in a cramped travel bag for over 7 hours, pressed down on the bag with a weight of up to 160 kg, and failed to provide proper rescue measures despite noticing abnormal signs such as irregular breathing."

This case sparked public outrage at the time of occurrence. Recently, it has drawn renewed attention in connection with the Jeong-in case, where a child died at 16 months old due to abuse by adoptive parents.

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