Horrifying Actions Before Murder of Mother-in-Law and Kidnapping of Wife by Kim Sung-woo

[Anchor]

The 26-year-old suspect, Kim Sung-woo, who murdered his mother-in-law, has been referred to the Prosecutors' Office on charges including retaliatory murder. He has also been charged with stalking his wife 18 times prior to the crime.

Reporter Jeong Jiyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Kim Sung-woo, 26, who is accused of murdering his mother-in-law and kidnapping his wife in Songpa-gu, Seoul, in the early hours of the 11th, exits the police station with his face covered by a hat and mask.

[Kim Sung-woo : (Why did you kill your mother-in-law?) ……. (Did you kill her out of revenge?) …….]

It was learned that Kim, who was transferred to the Prosecutors' Office today (the 20th) in custody, stated to the police that he "committed the murder on impulse and put [his wife] in the car to talk to her."

However, the police applied charges of retaliatory murder and retaliatory confinement—which allow for aggravated punishment—rather than patricide/matricide.

The police stated that they took into account several factors: his wife, Ms. A, had reported Kim for domestic violence last August and filed a suit to nullify their marriage; Kim purchased the murder weapon near her family's home; and he had even postponed a police investigation scheduled for the 10th, the day before the crime.

An additional stalking charge was applied for loitering around Ms. A's residence a total of 18 times from September 16 until the day of the incident.

Among those instances, nine occurred during the period when the court had issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting approach.

Regarding the hiring of private detective agency employees during Kim's stalking process, which was first brought to light by SBS reporting, it was learned that the police have secured related statements and are currently investigating individuals connected to the agency.

[Bereaved Family Member : (Heading toward Gangwon-do) While driving, (Kim) said that he paid 20 million won to a private detective agency for two weeks, deployed those people all around her sister's house, and checked all of her locations.]

Kim is also accused of injuring two police officers by ramming a pursuing patrol car while forcibly putting Ms. A into a vehicle and fleeing toward Gangwon-do.

(Video by Kim Hangyeol | Video Editing by Kim Hojin | Design by Kim Yeji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.