'Peer Murder' Jung Yoo-jung: "I Need Someone to Die With... I Think We Will Reincarnate"

Grandfather Witness Appearance "Recommended Depression Test but Refused"
3rd Trial, Scheduled for November 6 Morning

Jeong Yujeong (23), who was prosecuted for murdering a peer woman she met through a tutoring application, dismembering and abandoning the body, stated in court on the 16th that her motive was "I needed someone to die with, and I thought I would be reincarnated."

The Criminal Division 6 of Busan District Court (Chief Judge Kim Tae-eop) conducted the defendant's interrogation and the testimony of her paternal grandfather on the morning of the same day regarding charges of murder, corpse mutilation, theft, and others.

During the defendant's interrogation, when asked by the prosecution whether she committed the crime to release anger accumulated from her upbringing and family environment by killing someone, Jeong Yujeong replied, "I did not think about releasing anger. I needed someone to die with, and I also needed someone to listen to my story one last time."

When the court asked why she killed a victim unrelated to her upbringing, she said, "I needed someone to go with me. I thought I would be reincarnated after dying together."

When the court questioned her statement about wanting to die with the victim, she testified, "I intended to make an extreme choice after the crime, but after seeing the victim's family photo, I decided to abandon the body and make it appear as a disappearance. I wanted the bereaved family to think the victim was alive somewhere. I was caught in the middle and could not carry it out."

Jeong Yujeong (23), who is accused of murdering a peer female and disposing of the body, is being transferred from Busan Dongnae Police Station to the prosecution on the morning of June 2. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The prosecution judged that there was likely no resistance from the victim since Jeong Yujeong's DNA was not detected on the victim's hands according to the autopsy results.

However, Jeong Yujeong claimed that the victim strangled her and scratched her face, resulting in a physical struggle. She added, "The victim strangled my neck. I also tore my face, but my glasses flew off, so I couldn't see well and swung the weapon as I saw. At that time, I drank canned and bottled beer, so I don't remember clearly."

Jeong Yujeong's grandfather testified during the witness examination that when Jeong was a middle school student, she showed a significantly different behavior such as throwing things after becoming a high school student, and the local district office official recommended a depression test. He stated, "They said she seemed to have severe depression, but due to her refusal, she could not receive the test and treatment, so the murder could not be prevented."

He added, "These days, I can't sleep. There is no way to find the victim's family, and although I requested the police, the other party refused, so even if I want to apologize, I cannot," and said, "I apologize."

The court scheduled Jeong Yujeong's next hearing for the morning of the 6th of next month.

Jeong Yujeong was prosecuted for visiting the home of victim A (in her 20s), whom she killed after pretending to be a middle school student looking for a tutoring teacher on May 26, and then dismembering and abandoning the body.

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