Mother who threw and killed her '40-day-old' son on the floor... sentenced to 10 years in prison

A woman in her 20s was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing her 40-day-old son by throwing him onto the floor and leaving him unattended for three hours.

The 14th Criminal Division of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Ryu Kyung-jin) delivered the verdict on the 17th, sentencing A (24), who was charged with child abuse resulting in death under the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to 10 years in prison. The court also ordered A to attend 80 hours of child abuse recidivism prevention lectures and prohibited her from working in child-related institutions for 10 years.

Previously, the prosecution had requested a 30-year prison sentence for A during the sentencing hearing held last month.

A was arrested and indicted on charges of killing her son B, who was 40 days old, by forcefully throwing him onto the floor twice and leaving him unattended for three hours in her apartment in Seo-gu, Incheon, in April. According to the autopsy conducted by the National Forensic Service, B is estimated to have died from skull fractures and brain hemorrhage.

A, who has a severe intellectual disability, claimed during police investigation that "the child's breathing became rapid, but I thought he would be okay and did not take him to the hospital immediately."

A mother in her 20s dropped her 40-day-old son, causing his death [Image source=Yonhap News]

The court stated, "The defendant abused and killed a young victim who was completely dependent on her, and the nature of the crime is very serious. Even if she was in a situation where it was difficult to care for the child alone, it did not justify taking the child's life."

However, the court also noted, "Considering that the crime was committed impulsively, the defendant's remorse, and the fact that the victim's biological father did not want the defendant to be punished, we took these into account. Although we did not accept the defendant's claim that she committed the crime in a state of diminished mental capacity due to postpartum depression, we considered it in sentencing."

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