Common-law Couple Who Killed and Abandoned Newborn Son Admit Charges in First Trial

A common-law couple who killed their 5-day-old son and abandoned the body admitted all charges in court.

The biological father, Mr. A in his 20s, and the biological mother, Ms. B in her 30s, stated on the 24th during the first trial held by the Criminal Division 1 of the Tongyeong Branch of Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam, "We admit all the charges."

Changwon District Court, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Se-ryeong Lee

According to the court, they are suspects in the so-called "Geoje Infant Murder and Abandonment Case." On September 5 of last year, they gave birth to baby C at a maternity hospital in Geoje, and four days later, after being discharged, they strangled the baby to death at their residence.

They stored the body in a refrigerator immediately after the murder and discarded it in a nearby stream the next early morning.

Despite an extensive police search, baby C's body was never found.

The prosecution believes that Mr. A and others did not commit the crime out of panic or excitement after childbirth but planned and killed the baby without any sense of guilt.

At the time of arrest, they claimed, "We came back home, slept, and woke up to find the baby dead," and said they buried the body in a nearby mountain, but later confessed to the crime during further investigation.

They testified that they committed the crime due to financial difficulties and fear that their respective parents would find out about the birth and force them to separate.

They also stated that they planned and executed the crime starting three months before the birth by searching for similar infant murder cases and scouting locations to abandon the body after the crime.

Digital forensic analysis of their mobile phones confirmed 13 photo files created at their residence from 4:43 PM to 7:59 PM on the day of the crime, and a statement was secured that "around 4 PM, they killed baby C, put the body in the refrigerator, and took photos while going about daily life."

Police officers are searching the riverside where the infant's body was abandoned.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Police Agency]

The couple’s defense attorney admitted the charges but argued, "Mr. and Mrs. A have impaired situational judgment, including causality," and requested a pre-sentencing investigation by the probation office to understand their backgrounds and relationships with their grandparents.

A pre-sentencing investigation is a system that scientifically examines the personality and environment of a guilty defendant to provide foundational data for determining the appropriate type and degree of punishment.

The court accepted this request, and the next trial is scheduled for October 19 at 10:10 AM.

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