'Valley Murder' Accomplice Denies Charges in Trial: "I Didn't Know About the Diving Murder Plan"

by Park Haesook

Published 18 Apr.2023 12:04(KST)

A acquaintance of Lee Eun-hae (32, female) and Jo Hyun-soo (31), who are managed by CMS for the "Valley Murder" case, denied all charges in court for aiding and abetting their crime.

At the first trial held on the 18th, presided over by the Criminal Division 15 of Incheon District Court (Chief Judge Ryu Ho-jung), the defense attorney of A (31, male), who was indicted on charges including aiding and abetting murder, stated, "The defendant denies all the prosecution's allegations."

He continued, "The defendant was completely unaware of the plan by Lee and others to kill the victim by making him dive," and claimed, "(After the victim fell into the water) the defendant also went with Lee to get life jackets and returned, and even informed the 119 emergency services of the incident location."

The defense attorney for A added, "The indictment's claim that he aided and abetted murder is not true," and "Since he did not know about the murder plan, he also denies the charge of aiding and abetting related to the insurance money."

In response, the court ordered the prosecution to "specify what actions were considered as aiding and abetting."

The prosecution replied, "The defendant first jumped (from a 4-meter-high rock) to reassure the victim and encourage him to dive," and added, "We will specify this in writing."

A was initially indicted without detention in September last year on seven charges including aiding and abetting murder, attempted aiding and abetting violation of the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, and falsification of official records related to the valley murder case. However, three months later, he was ultimately detained on charges of threatening his girlfriend with a weapon in an apartment in Incheon.

The court decided to conduct evidence investigation on A after the appellate trial verdicts for Lee and Jo. A’s next trial is scheduled for May 19.

Defendants Lee Eun-hae (left) and Jo Hyun-soo in the 'Valley Murder' case [Image source=Yonhap News]

A was indicted on charges including aiding and abetting the murder of Lee’s husband B (39 years old at the time of death) on June 30, 2019, at Yongsogye Valley in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province. At that time, A and Jo first jumped from a 4-meter-high rock beside a waterfall into 3 meters deep water, and B, who could not swim, followed by diving and died.

The prosecution judged that A was aware of Lee and others’ murder plan aiming for B’s life insurance payout of 800 million won but still aided and abetted the crime.

Lee and Jo, indicted on charges including murder, were sentenced to life imprisonment and 30 years in prison respectively at the sentencing trial in October last year, and their appellate trial is currently ongoing.