50-Year-Old Man Who Killed Neighbor for Asking to "Be Quiet" Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison in Second Trial

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A man in his 50s who killed a neighboring apartment resident with a weapon after a noise dispute was sentenced to a heavy prison term again in the appellate court.

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Gwangju High Court's 1st Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Lee Seung-cheol) dismissed both the defendant's and the prosecutor's appeals in the appellate trial of A (57), who was indicted on charges including murder, and upheld the original sentence of 15 years in prison.

A was brought to trial on charges of stabbing two neighboring residents with a weapon, killing one and attempting to kill another, during a noise dispute at an apartment in Buk-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, around 8 p.m. on February 4 last year.

A visited two neighboring households separately and wielded a kitchen knife he had brought from his own home against them.

A is also charged with murder preparation and property damage for going to another neighbor's apartment in the same building with the intent to kill, knocking on the front door while shouting to be let in, and breaking a window.

It was investigated that the victim, who was presumed to have been close enough to share the front door password or to have had a romantic interest, tried to avoid A by not answering his calls, which caused A to harbor resentment and visit them.

Before this incident, around 3 a.m. on February 1, A is also charged with striking the front door with a metal hammer and breaking the hallway glass window after visiting a neighbor in the same apartment suspected of raping the victim he liked.

A’s side claimed that "he was intoxicated and even taking psychiatric medication at the time of the murder," arguing for insanity or diminished mental capacity.

However, the court did not accept the defendant's claim of insanity, recognizing that he had the ability to control his actions and make decisions.

Regarding A’s charge of murder preparation, the court acquitted him, stating, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, it was not sufficiently proven beyond reasonable doubt that there was an intent to kill the victim."

Furthermore, the court judged, "Considering the circumstances, content, means and methods, and the resulting consequences of each criminal act in this case, the nature of the crime is extremely bad and highly blameworthy. The defendant did not take any measures to restore the damages to the bereaved family of the deceased victim or the other victim, and the deceased victim’s child is pleading for severe punishment."

However, the court explained the sentencing reason by stating, "It appears that the murder was somewhat impulsive, and there is no clear evidence to consider it a premeditated crime, so somewhat favorable circumstances were taken into account."

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