"Never Gave Birth," Maternal Grandmother, Did She Dream of a Horrific Perfect Crime? [Seunggon Han's Case Notebook]

'Mystery of the 3-Year-Old Girl Case in Gumi, Gyeongbuk... Who is the Culprit?
Biological Mother Known as "Maternal Grandmother" Strongly Denies, "I Have Never Given Birth to a Daughter"
Woman Previously Identified as Biological Mother Revealed to Be the Girl's Sister
Location of Child Born by This Woman Unknown, Possibility of "Serious Crime"
Expert: "DNA Evidence from National Agencies is Reliable... Case Enters a Completely New Phase"'

On the morning of the 11th, at the Gimcheon branch of the Daegu District Court, A, the maternal grandmother identified as the biological mother of a 3-year-old girl who was found dead in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, is entering the court to undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing). / Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] It has come as a shock that the biological mother of a 3-year-old girl found dead in a villa in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, has been identified as her maternal grandmother, A (48). The police revealed this fact through DNA testing.

Initially, this case was expected to be closed as a child abuse case involving the 20-something biological mother, B. However, with A revealed as the girl's mother, the case has taken a completely different turn.

There are suspicions that the entire family might have been involved in the death of the 3-year-old girl. A, who is at the center of the case, denied giving birth altogether ahead of her detention hearing.

Because of this, some believe that A may have attempted a perfect crime to cover up her actions. Experts pointed out that A's statements lack credibility in the face of DNA evidence.

On the morning of the 11th, before the pre-trial detention hearing at the Gimcheon branch of Daegu District Court, A told reporters, "I have never given birth to a daughter," firmly denying the charges against her.

In particular, A said, "(The deceased 3-year-old girl) is indeed the daughter of my daughter," and when asked by a reporter if she thought the DNA test was wrong, she answered, "Yes." When questioned about the whereabouts of the child her daughter gave birth to, she repeatedly claimed, "I have never given birth to a daughter," insisting she was unrelated to the case.

On the morning of the 11th, at the Gimcheon branch of the Daegu District Court, the maternal grandmother, identified as the biological mother of a 3-year-old girl who was found dead in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, is entering the court to undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, A's statements are highly unreliable. In South Korea's investigative methods, DNA testing can confirm genetic information that identifies individuals, such as blood type, gender, and parentage. This is why the saying "DNA remains even with just a touch" is common.

DNA analysis has the advantage of detecting even extremely small samples collected at the scene. Currently, the National Forensic Service (NFS) can analyze DNA with as little as 1ng (one-billionth of a gram) through amplification processes.

With this technology, the perpetrator of the 2016 'Nowon-gu woman rape and murder case' was caught after 18 years. The case dates back to October 27, 1998. At that time, a woman in an apartment in Nowon-gu was sexually assaulted and strangled to death.

The police secured semen found on the victim's body and stored it at the NFS. At that time, the technology only allowed them to determine that the perpetrator's blood type was AB, but no further progress was made due to lack of evidence. Then, in January 2010, the DNA Act was enacted, allowing DNA samples to be collected for 11 types of violent crimes including robbery, rape, and assault.

Subsequently, in 2016, the police reopened the case and conducted DNA testing on the stored semen, obtaining more information about the suspect than at the time of the crime. Ultimately, based on comprehensive clues including blood type, they identified the suspect and solved the case. This is why A's claim that she did not give birth to the 3-year-old girl lacks credibility.

On the 12th of last month, Ms. B, initially known as Ms. C's biological mother, is coming out after the substantive hearing for her arrest warrant at the Gimcheon Branch of Daegu District Court in Gimcheon-si, Gyeongbuk. / Yonhap News

Earlier, on February 10 around 3 p.m., a 3-year-old girl was found dead in a villa in Gumi, Gyeongbuk. The first person to discover and report the girl was A, and the police investigating the case initially regarded A's daughter B (22) as the biological mother, charging and detaining her on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death.

However, DNA results showed that the girl's DNA and B's DNA could not be considered mother and child, and after expanding DNA testing to people around B, it was found that A's DNA matched the 3-year-old girl's DNA.

On the afternoon of the 10th, after receiving the DNA test results from the NFS, the investigation team confirmed that A, who had introduced herself as the 'maternal grandmother' at the time of the report, was actually the biological mother of the deceased girl. B, previously thought to be the biological mother, was revealed to be the deceased girl's sister.

Meanwhile, it is reported that even B believed until now that the deceased girl was her daughter, as A and B gave birth around the same time. This raises the possibility that A swapped her own child with B's child to conceal her childbirth. Furthermore, the whereabouts of the child born to B are currently unknown, raising suspicions of another serious crime.

Ultimately, there is speculation that A meticulously planned this entire incident from the start, deceiving even her own daughter to commit this crime and attempting a perfect crime.

Meanwhile, experts emphasize that A's claims lack basis and that DNA evidence inevitably holds more weight, urging a focus on investigating the motive behind the crime.

Professor Oh Yoon-sung of the Department of Police Administration at Soonchunhyang University told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "Compared to A's claims, the DNA evidence is scientific proof from a national investigative agency," adding, "Considering both, A's claims are reasonably unreliable." He continued, "Therefore, this case has entered a completely different phase," emphasizing, "There will likely be many aspects to uncover through investigation."

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