6-Month-Old Found with Maggots on Body... Parents' Shocking Search History Revealed

Further details of the abuse by a couple in their 20s who repeatedly neglected their 6-month-old son to death have been revealed in court.

The 13th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court held a defendant interrogation for the couple, who were indicted on charges of child abuse resulting in death.

According to the prosecution's investigation, the couple left their young son alone at home about 140 times, starting from just over ten days after the baby was born until right before his death.

In particular, back in April when the baby was 4 months old, they left both the baby and their pet dog unattended to visit an internet PC cafe and go on a trip, leaving the house empty for over 27 hours.

The physical condition of the baby on the day of his death was tragic.

Weighing 3.62kg at birth, the baby barely grew over the course of 6 months and weighed only 3.68kg at the time of his death.

This is less than half of the average weight of 8.3kg for peers of the same age.

The shocking fact that maggots were found in the baby's genitalia at the time of death was also revealed in court.

When the prosecutor asked the biological father during the interrogation, "Did you know about this?", the father replied, "I found out later."

The biological mother defended herself by saying, "It seems to have happened because I couldn't change his diapers properly," while adding, "I changed them every time I fed him formula."

Even on the day before his death, the baby was in a critical condition—passing bloody stools and losing focus in his eyes—yet the parents went out for 5 hours without taking him to the hospital.

The circumstances after the baby died were also brought to light.

The father searched AI with queries such as "How severe is the punishment if a child dies?", while it was confirmed that the mother had searched portal sites for months with terms like "newborn death insurance payout," "I want to kill my child," and the meaning of "death by starvation."

The court plans to hold one more trial hearing next month before proceeding with the sentencing hearing.

(Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Lee Da-in | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.