[Anchor]

A man in his 20s who allegedly stabbed his mother-in-law to death and fled with his wife during divorce proceedings has been apprehended by police after seven hours. Although police had recently received domestic violence reports from the wife and implemented protective measures, they were unable to prevent the tragedy.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu has the details.

[Reporter]

Police cars are parked in front of a multi-family housing building, and the surrounding area has been cordoned off with crime scene tape.

At around 5:30 a.m. today (October 11), a man in his 20s, identified as A, who was undergoing divorce proceedings with his wife, attacked his mother-in-law in her 50s with a weapon in Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul.

[Witness: "I heard someone screaming 'Save me,' and when I went outside, she was lying on the ground, so I called 119."]
The mother-in-law was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest but ultimately died.

A subsequently forced his wife into a vehicle and fled, only to be arrested by police seven hours later in a mountainous area in Yangyang, Gangwon Province.

The wife was also found with the vehicle in the mountains and is reportedly in non-life-threatening condition.

It was learned that A works as a social service agent in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, and had previously been subjected to temporary court measures, including a restraining order, due to habitual domestic violence against his wife.

From August to the end of September, measures were in place requiring him to move out of the residence, stay 100 meters away, and avoid contact via telecommunications. However, the incident occurred 11 days after those temporary measures expired at the end of last month.

Although the police responded to the wife's request for personal safety measures by providing a smart watch and other protections, they failed to prevent the additional crime.

Police have urgently arrested A on charges including the murder of an ascendant and plan to investigate the exact circumstances of the crime.

(Video by In Pil-seong | Video Editing by Kim Jun-hee)