Mother who left 3-year-old daughter unattended to date boyfriend, causing death, sentenced to 20 years in prison, appeals

Deceased 3-Year-Old Child Found to Have Died from Thirst and Hunger

A mother in her 30s left her 3-year-old daughter home alone, resulting in the child's death

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] A woman in her 30s who left her 3-year-old daughter alone at home, resulting in the child's death, while going on a date with her boyfriend was sentenced to a heavy prison term but has appealed the decision.

According to the legal community, A (32), who is accused of neglecting her biological daughter leading to her death, filed an appeal on the 9th at the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Ho Seong-ho), claiming the sentence was too harsh.

Earlier, on the 5th, the first trial court sentenced A to 20 years in prison on charges including child abuse homicide under the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, habitual abandonment and neglect under the Child Welfare Act, and corpse abandonment. Additionally, she was ordered to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program and was banned from employment in child-related institutions for 10 years.

The court stated, "Many neighbors heard the cries of the victim child calling for her mother, and on a day when a heatwave advisory was issued, the victim child, left alone at home waiting only for A, endured thirst and hunger and ultimately lost her life. The mental and physical suffering of the victim child is considered to be considerable," and judged that "the culpability is very serious."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasoning by saying, "A’s parents divorced during her childhood, and she was neglected, which is believed to have influenced her tendencies and the crime. Also, considering that she has no prior criminal record, these factors were comprehensively taken into account."

Previously, from July 21, A left her daughter B (3) alone at home for 77 hours while meeting her boyfriend. At the time she left the house, A had only given B one bag of snacks, jelly, and two child juices, according to investigations.

While A was meeting her boyfriend, B did not consume any water or food. It was ultimately determined that B died from severe dehydration. At the crime scene, a sealed 2-liter bottled water was found, and it is presumed that B, who was only 38 months old at the time of death, was unable to open the bottle cap.

Investigations revealed that this was not the first time A left B alone at home. Since mid-June, A had been neglecting her daughter and had left her alone a total of 26 times over approximately two months.

At the time of B’s death, A left the daughter’s body at home and went outside, hiding at her boyfriend’s house for two weeks. She only reported the incident to emergency services (119) after returning home on the 7th of last month.

During police questioning, A stated that she abandoned her daughter’s body because "I was scared since my daughter died," and that "I covered my daughter’s body, who was lying face down in the master bedroom, with a blanket and left the house."

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