Woman Who Beat Husband to Death Overnight with Broom... Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison on Appeal

The appellate court also sentenced the wife to five years in prison for killing her husband by hitting him with a broom during an argument.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Busan High Court (Chief Judge Park Jun-yong) announced on the 14th that it upheld the first trial's sentence of five years in prison for Ms. A, who was convicted of injury resulting in death.

Ms. A was prosecuted on charges of killing her husband, Mr. B, in his 60s, by hitting him with a broom and other objects at their home around 8 a.m. on September 16 last year.

According to the court, Ms. A had long harbored resentment due to harsh words from her in-laws and her husband's usual refusal to disclose his income details.

On the day in question, the couple argued for about an hour after Mr. B cut a defective belt he had bought without exchanging it and then purchased a new one.

The night before the incident, at 9 p.m., Ms. A asked Mr. B for money to buy bleach, but he replied that he had lent money to a friend and had none. Angered, Ms. A slapped Mr. B's cheek. Then, until 6:30 a.m. the next day, she repeatedly struck the victim's head, face, chest, and neck with a broom and other objects.

Mr. B suffered a fractured nasal bone and multiple rib fractures, and eventually died from multiple injuries on the living room floor around 8 a.m. on the 16th.

The first trial was conducted with a jury, and Ms. A's defense argued that she only slapped him once and did not inflict injuries severe enough to cause death.

However, the court rejected this claim, noting that Mr. B returned home without external injuries and did not go out before his death. All seven jurors in the first trial also found her guilty.

The appellate court explained the sentencing rationale, stating, "Multiple bloodstains of the victim were found on the defendant's clothes, slippers, and the living room," and added that "it is difficult to see the first trial's sentence as either too light or too heavy," addressing the arguments from both the prosecution and the defendant.

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