'Valley Murder' Lee Eun-hae Faces Prosecutor's Sentencing Today... About 3 Years Since Incident Occurred

Suspects Lee Eun-hae and Jo Hyun-soo in the 'Valley Murder' Case [Image Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The sentencing hearing for Lee Eunhae (31, female) and her accomplice Jo Hyunsoo (30, male), who were indicted in the 'Valley Murder' case, will be held.

According to the legal community on the 30th, at 10 a.m. that day, the Criminal Division 15 of the Incheon District Court (Chief Judge Lee Gyuhun) will conduct the sentencing hearing for those indicted on charges including murder and attempted murder. During the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor will request the court to impose a certain punishment on the defendants. The defense counsel's final argument and the defendants' final statements will also take place.

In a previous defendant examination, Lee claimed that she did not force her husband to dive before he died on the day of the incident. Jo also completely denied the murder charges, stating that he tried to rescue Lee’s husband who fell into the valley water after diving.

The court has held a total of 16 hearings from the first trial on June 3, following their indictment and detention on May 4. Over the past two months since August, about 30 witnesses including acquaintances of Lee and Jo, friends and colleagues of Lee’s husband and victim Yoon (aged 39 at the time of death), bereaved family members, criminal psychology experts, and water leisure business officials have appeared in court.

Inside and outside the legal community, it is widely expected that the prosecution will likely seek a minimum sentence of life imprisonment for Lee and Jo at this sentencing hearing.

Previously, Lee was indicted and detained on charges of murdering her husband Yoon on June 30, 2019, at around 8:24 p.m. in Yongsogye Valley, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, along with her lover Jo. The prosecution believes that they killed Yoon, who could not swim, by forcing him to jump from a 4-meter-high rock into a 3-meter-deep valley pool without any rescue equipment.

They are also accused of attempting to kill Yoon in February and May 2019 by feeding him food mixed with pufferfish blood or by drowning him in a fishing pond. The prosecution views the crime as a planned act motivated by the 800 million won life insurance policy taken out in Yoon’s name.

Lee and Jo, who disappeared before the prosecution’s second investigation on December 14 last year, were arrested by the police in April near Samsong Station in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, at an officetel.

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