Wife Sentenced to 2 Years and 6 Months for Killing Husband She Cared for 10 Years Due to Immobility

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A wife who killed her husband, who had been immobile for over 10 years due to a traffic accident, while caring for him, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison. The court took into account the wife's efforts and hardships during the long caregiving process and imposed a relatively light prison sentence.

On the 10th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyungmi) upheld the original sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison in the appeal trial of A, who was charged with murder.

A was tried on charges of causing the death of her husband B in 2017. B had been unable to move since a traffic accident in 2007, and A cared for him for 10 years, even assisting with his urination and defecation. The financial burden was also significant. Hospital bills alone amounted to 7 million won annually, and it was confirmed that A quit her job starting in 2017.

The issue arose during early morning prayers. After a quarrel in which the husband insisted, "Let's pray together for three hours every day from 5 a.m.," A was charged with causing her husband's death by suffocation. The prosecution judged that A, who was experiencing economic difficulties due to hospital bills and felt extreme fatigue when her husband forced the prayers, momentarily lost control and committed the crime.

However, A claimed that although she expressed pain and dissatisfaction the night before the incident by slapping her husband's cheek and neck, she did not strangle him or cover his nose and mouth. The first trial court also acquitted her, stating, "It is difficult to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the victim died because the defendant intentionally strangled him and covered his nose and mouth." Notably, A did not conceal the scene after the incident and immediately called 119 or administered first aid, which was taken into consideration.

The second trial court's judgment differed. After sequentially examining the possibility that the victim died from illness, accident, or self-harm, it concluded it was a homicide. The court stated, "A severe sentence is inevitable," but sentenced A to 2 years and 6 months in prison, lower than the sentencing guidelines, considering that A had endured hardships, the victim's older brother and younger sibling requested leniency, and the children did not want punishment.

On this day, the Supreme Court also found no problem with the second trial's legal reasoning and finalized the sentence.

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