"I Thought I Might Die" 20s Disabled Person Denies Intent to Murder After Starving and Abusing Disabled Sibling

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] A man in his 20s with a disability, who was charged with brutally beating and starving his disabled younger brother to death while living together in a one-room apartment, denied the intent to murder in the first trial.

On the 3rd, during the trial of A (23) held at the Jeongeup Branch of Jeonju District Court, 1st Criminal Division (Chief Judge Park Geun-jeong), the defendant's lawyer argued, "We acknowledge the basic facts, but he did not foresee the victim's death."

A was charged with murder for indiscriminately assaulting B (20), who lived with him in a one-room apartment in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do, from mid-September to November 14 of last year, using his hands, feet, and a blunt weapon. The deceased B suffered from speech and hearing disabilities, and A also had the same disabilities.

They were senior and junior students at a school for the deaf and mute and maintained a close relationship even after graduation, traveling together, but their relationship reportedly deteriorated after living together.

A was investigated for stripping B and forcing him out onto the balcony and withholding food because B did not follow the shared living rules. A monitored B's every move through CCTV installed inside the house and called 119 after finding B collapsed on the balcony and not breathing, then was arrested by the police.

At the time of arrest, A denied the charges, saying, "I did not hit B." However, the CCTV footage A had installed to monitor B clearly recorded the crime, and A confessed only after the police showed him the video. The prosecution charged A, believing he had a conditional intent to kill B.

Previously, the prosecutor explained the charges, stating, "The defendant was aware that the victim could die but repeatedly assaulted him with a blunt weapon over a long period, causing death due to secondary shock from trauma." In response, A's lawyer said, "We admit all the charges, but considering the defendant's intellectual capacity, he could not have foreseen that the victim would die from traumatic shock."

The trial concluded with the submission of evidence lists and the defense's request to question the defendant, and the next hearing is scheduled for March 17.

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