"I Just Did What My Husband Told Me to Do"... Defendant in Changnyeong Case of Killing 2-Year-Old Son Partially Denies Charges

A 20-something wife indicted for allegedly abusing and killing her two-year-old son in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, along with her husband, partially denied the charges, claiming she merely followed her husband's instructions.

On the 12th, Criminal Division 1 of the Miryang Branch of the Changwon District Court (Presiding Judge Han Yoon-ok) held the third trial for a man in his 20s, identified as A, and his wife, a woman in his 20s, identified as B, who were handed over to trial on charges including child abuse resulting in death under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes in the "Changnyeong Two-Year-Old Child Abuse and Murder Case."

During the trial that day, B appeared as a witness regarding A and testified that she acted as her husband instructed, while partially denying the abuse charge of restraining the child with an adult-sized shirt.

B, who was re-imprisoned following childbirth last month, continued her witness examination while holding her newborn baby in her arms.

She claimed, "I tied the child's body so that he wouldn't be scolded by A for wandering around instead of sleeping," adding, "I knew it was an emergency situation when the child was dying, but I didn't call 119 because A told me not to report it."

She also stated, "I was scared because A told me he wouldn't leave me alone if I reported it."

A and B were indicted and detained in January for allegedly leaving their son C (then 2 years old), who was showing symptoms of dehydration due to child abuse at their home in Changnyeong-gun, unattended without taking any measures, leading to his death.

It was found that A assaulted his son for long hours on the grounds that he "would not sleep," while B bound C with an adult-sized shirt to prevent him from moving during the crime.

Although C showed symptoms of dehydration, the couple failed to take active measures, and C ultimately died.

Previously, during the first trial of this case in May, the prosecution demanded a prison sentence of one year and six months for A's father-in-law, D, who was indicted without detention on charges of abandoning a corpse by putting the body of C, who died from abuse, into a hemp sack along with A and abandoning it in an abandoned house in Namji-eup, Changnyeong.

The next trial for this case is scheduled for 2:00 PM on the 21st.

Aside from this case, it was revealed that A and B had prior convictions for assaulting and injuring a woman in her 30s with an intellectual disability whom they lived with while taking care of their children and doing housework at their residence in Daegu between March and May 2021, for which they were sentenced to two years in prison and one year in prison with a two-year probation, respectively, on charges including special injury and violation of the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act.

In particular, A was also charged with hacking an online gambling site, manipulating the results, and defrauding 15,832,000 won by deceiving victims with promises of a share of the profits, as well as selling fictitious items online.

At the time of the two-year-old child abuse and murder case, the couple reportedly had six children, including the deceased boy, and made a living solely on government subsidies such as multi-child allowances without engaging in any significant economic activity.

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