Man Acquitted of Killing Cohabitant After Two Years in Court

A man in his 50s who was arrested on charges of beating his cohabitant to death has been cleared of the charges in court two years after the incident.

The 1st Criminal Division of the Jeonju District Court's Jeongeup Branch, presided over by Senior Judge Jung Young-ha, has acquitted a 52-year-old man surnamed A, who had been indicted on charges of assault resulting in death.

According to the indictment, the incident took place at around 10:17 PM on May 23, 2024, at a home in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do, shared by A and his 50-year-old cohabitant, surnamed B.

At the time, B collapsed in the bathroom for unknown reasons and sustained severe head injuries.

However, she did not receive timely medical treatment and died from cerebral edema about a month later on June 18 of that year.

Initially, no causal relationship with A was apparent in the case.

However, B's mother, C, who was inside the house at the time of the incident, gave a statement pointing to A.

C stated, "My daughter came out of the room and said, 'A beat me,' and immediately after that, she was found lying face down and naked in the bathroom, unable to speak."

Based on the testimony of the sole witness, an investigation was conducted, and A stood trial on charges of beating his cohabitant to death.

However, after reconstructing the events of the day of the incident minute by minute, the court concluded that the crime stated in the indictment was physically impossible.

A and B exchanged a total of seven phone calls that day between 11:09 PM and 11:44 PM.

This contradicted C's statement that her daughter had collapsed and become unable to speak at around 10:17 PM.

Furthermore, records showed that A went out at around 10:53 PM on the day of the incident and returned home at around 12:02 AM the following day.

Consequently, it was confirmed that all seven phone calls between A and B took place while A was outside the house.

A consistently stated, "I found B, who drank every day, collapsed in the bathroom the next morning, but I thought she was just hungover from heavy drinking."

The court explained, "The victim's mother, C, was diagnosed with unspecified Alzheimer's disease (dementia) in 2022 and lacks a clear sense of time."

It added, "Even assuming that C's testimony has credibility, it is difficult to consider that testimony alone as proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant assaulted the victim."

The court also ruled, "The mere fact that there are suspicious aspects in the defendant's subsequent actions, such as failing to promptly report to 119 after discovering the collapsed victim, is not enough to establish the fact of assault."

Accordingly, the court stated, "Since the charges in this case fall under a case where the criminal facts have not been proven, we declare the defendant not guilty."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.