Supreme Court Confirms Life Sentence for Lee Eun-hae and 30 Years Imprisonment for Jo Hyun-soo in 'Valley Murder' Case

Court: "Very heavy guilt for two attempted murders and murder committed"

Lee Eun-hae (32, female), who was tried on charges of 'valley murder,' has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Lee Eun-hae and Jo Hyun-soo, who were sentenced to life imprisonment and 30 years in prison respectively for the "Valley Murder" case, were escorted to the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office in Michuhol-gu, Incheon on April 16 last year.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) on the 21st upheld the original sentence in the appeal trial of Lee and her accomplice Jo Hyun-soo (31), who were indicted on charges including murder, sentencing Lee to life imprisonment and Jo to 30 years in prison.

Lee was arrested and indicted on charges of killing her husband A (39 years old at the time of death) by forcing him to jump from a 4-meter-high rock into a 3-meter-deep valley pool without any safety equipment at Yongsogye Valley in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, on June 30, 2019, along with her lover Jo.

They are also accused of attempting to kill A earlier in February and May 2019 by feeding him food mixed with pufferfish poison and by drowning him in fishing pond water.

Investigations revealed that Lee had economically exploited A for years, and when his financial ruin made him less valuable, she planned with Jo to kill A to claim 800 million won in life insurance money, carrying out the crime accordingly.

The first and second trials judged, "The defendants committed two attempted murders and a murder aiming for 800 million won in insurance money, and their guilt is very serious." However, the court did not recognize the prosecution's claim of 'active murder' through gaslighting (psychological control). The Supreme Court also agreed with the lower courts' judgment.

Meanwhile, Lee lost a civil lawsuit against the insurance company on the 5th of this month, filed in November 2020, demanding 800 million won in life insurance money from A. Lee had registered marriage with A in 2017 and the following year signed three insurance contracts with A as the insured and herself as the beneficiary.

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