"Daughter Accused of Elder Abuse and Death: 'I'm the Only One Supporting... Siblings Are Blaming Me' [Seocho-dong Legal Story]"

"The bad deeds were all done by my younger brother and older sister, and now they are blaming me for the crime." (Defendant)

"Taking care of your mother must have been difficult, but I don't think the assault to this extent can be justified." (Judge)

Recently, in a courtroom on the 5th floor of the Seoul Central District Court, a 58-year-old biological daughter stood in the defendant's seat on charges of abusing and neglecting her 79-year-old mother, leading to her death. The mother had been living at her daughter's home in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, from November 2019 until February last year, but suffered continuous abuse.

In court, CCTV footage from the room where the daughter and mother lived was revealed. The daughter frequently grabbed her mother’s collar and shook her, or struck the back of her head and chin forcefully. She also stomped on her mother’s face without even dressing her. From February 2, last year, when the mother slipped and sustained fractures entering the room, she was unable to walk on her own.

In footage from the early morning of February 6, just before the mother’s death, the daughter was seen stuffing a towel and a rice paddle into the mouth of her lying mother. The daughter claimed, "Mother lay down to sleep but was choking on phlegm, so I did that." In the last video, the daughter was seen placing her hand and ear on the motionless mother’s nose and staring for several tens of seconds.

The prosecution, which arrested and indicted the daughter on charges of abandonment resulting in death of a dependent, abuse of a dependent, assault of a dependent, and violation of the Elderly Welfare Act, stated, "The victim died due to complications from fractures and symptoms of diabetes," adding "After falling, the right thigh swelled and she could not walk, showing a health condition different from before, but she did not receive hospital treatment. There was no medication treatment for diabetes such as insulin injections either," they pointed out.

The daughter admitted to the abuse and assault but argued that her mother did not die because of her. The defense attorney said, "She did not intentionally neglect the victim. She was unaware of the fractures and managed the diabetes with dietary therapy to some extent," and added, "We do not agree with the autopsy results that judged related complications as the cause of death."

The daughter said, "I was wrong to abuse her. I reflect on that. I came to Seoul forcefully and tried my best to take care of my mother, but there were wrong moments," and tearfully added, "I think everyone believes my mother died because of me."

She said, "When I mentioned nursing homes, my mother cried without sleeping, saying, ‘Why should I live and die there?’ I took care of such a mother," and continued, "'I thought this was enough,' so I sent her to my younger brother’s house for two weeks, but she developed bedsores, and after sending her to my older sister’s house for three weeks, her condition worsened and she came back. I wondered why I had to take all the responsibility," she said.

When the court asked, "The victim in the video keeps touching her leg like that, did she ever say ‘it hurts’?" the daughter replied, "My younger brother and older sister made mother like that and sent her away. When she was with me, her condition was very good," claiming that her siblings were shifting the responsibility for the death onto her.

The court said, "Looking at the evidence, it is hard to justify the assault no matter how you look at it," and decided to proceed with the defendant’s interrogation on the 16th of next month.

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