▲ The 20-something man, surnamed A, who is suspected of murdering his mother-in-law and abducting his wife, arrives for a pre-arrest bail hearing.
It has been reported that a man in his 20s, who murdered his mother-in-law and fled after abducting his wife, had continuously threatened his wife by using the safety of her family as leverage.
While investigating the 20-something man, A, on charges including parricide and special confinement, the Seoul Songpa Police Station secured testimonies to this effect from the victim's side.
The younger brother of the deceased stated that A constantly made threats to inflict harm, mentioning family members including the father-in-law and mother-in-law.
He also explained that even the marriage registration between the nephew (referring to the wife) and A was the result of threats and coercion backed by violence.
In fact, A's wife was in the midst of preparing to change her ongoing divorce lawsuit into a nullification lawsuit on the grounds that the marriage itself was invalid.
A largely admitted to the charges, stating that he held ill feelings toward his wife for filing a lawsuit against him.
However, it is understood that he claims the murder itself was an accidental crime and that he had no intention of harming his mother-in-law.
Based on the fact that A waited for his wife nearby while carrying a weapon from about four hours before the crime, police are placing weight on the possibility of retaliation and a premeditated crime.
To prove this, police have secured the black box from the vehicle A used to transport his wife to Yangyang, Gangwon Province, and are analyzing the conversations recorded at the time.
They have also secured closed-circuit television footage from the surrounding area to thoroughly verify circumstances revealing premeditation, such as whether A pre-inspected the scene.
Police plan to seize electronic devices such as mobile phones to determine to what extent A prepared for this crime and whether he had the intent to attack his wife or her family.
While police plan to comprehensively review internet search histories and generative AI conversation contents, they are currently backtracking his overall movements because A's residence is not fixed.
A appeared at the Seoul Dongbu District Court today (October 13) for a pre-arrest interrogation of a suspect, but did not answer questions regarding the circumstances of retaliation and premeditation.
Wearing a heavily pulled-down cap and a mask, A entered the courtroom without answering questions such as why he murdered his mother-in-law, whether he planned the crime in advance, and whether he intended to kill other family members as well.
If a retaliatory crime is recognized, the sentence becomes heavier.
Under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes, the statutory penalty for retaliatory murder is the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for 10 years or more, which is typically higher than that for ordinary murder.
In particular, the charge of retaliatory murder applies when a murder is committed as retaliation for providing clues or statements regarding one's own or another person's investigation and trial.
In A's case, it must be proven whether he had the plan or intent to inflict harm on his wife or her family regarding the lawsuit or police investigations into domestic violence directed at him.
A is accused of visiting his wife's family home in Songpa-gu at around 5:38 a.m. on October 11, stabbing his mother-in-law in her 50s with a weapon, and fleeing with his wife in a vehicle.
The mother-in-law found at the scene was transported to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead.
Mourners who visited the funeral hall today offered difficult words of comfort to the bereaved family, telling them they must not collapse.
The bereaved family shed tears while looking at the portrait photo, and in their frustration, beat their chests or stamped their feet.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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