Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Older Brother After Forcing Zolpidem and Boiled Eggs

▲ Busan District Court

A man in his 40s who successively murdered his older brother and father to secure their property has been sentenced to life in prison in the first trial for the older brother's murder.

On August 11, the Busan District Court sentenced the defendant, identified as A, to life in prison on charges including robbery-murder and violations of the Narcotics Control Act.

Defendant A was charged with feeding his older brother a drink laced with Zolpidem at the brother's home in Seoul in December 2024 to render him unconscious, and then forcibly shoving baked eggs into his mouth, causing him to suffocate and die.

During the initial investigation, Defendant A admitted to causing his older brother's death, but during the trial, he denied the crime, claiming that "there is a possibility that the brother choked on eggs while eating them himself."

However, the court found him guilty based on the facts that the older brother had no history of being prescribed or taking Zolpidem yet a lethal dose of Zolpidem was detected in his body, and that Defendant A had searched for Zolpidem and prepared the eggs in advance.

Investigations also revealed that after his brother died, Defendant A demanded that his father, who held inheritance rights, give them up. When the father refused, Defendant A stabbed his father in his 60s 14 times with a weapon to murder him in March of last year.

Previously, Defendant A was indicted first for the murder of his father and was sentenced to 27 years in prison in the first trial for that case.

The court stated the sentencing rationale, "The crime is extremely grave, planned and meticulous, using family members as mere tools. However, considering the defendant's age, environment, and upbringing, it is difficult to conclude that there is no room for rehabilitation, and therefore life imprisonment is sentenced instead of the death penalty."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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