"Thought God Would Bring Her Back": Man in His 30s Sentenced to 18 Years for Killing Mother During Nap

Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison,
Ordered 5 Years of Probation

A man in his 30s who killed his mother while she was taking a nap has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

According to Yonhap News on July 8, the 11th Criminal Division of Cheongju District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kang Seonghoon, sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted and detained on charges of parricide, to 18 years in prison and ordered five years of probation.

Court image. The Asia Business Daily DB

Mr. A was accused of killing his mother, Ms. B (in her 60s), by striking her dozens of times with a hammer and a weapon while she was sleeping at their home in Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, at around 1:30 p.m. on December 2 last year.

During a police investigation, Mr. A stated, "God in my heart broke His promise not to touch my trauma, so I killed my mother to break away from God," adding, "I believed that God would protect my mother, and even if she died, I thought He would bring her back to life."

However, in court, Mr. A changed his statement, saying, "I moved to Goesan to avoid my mother's nagging, but she followed me all the way there and continued nagging, so I committed the crime."

It was reported that Mr. A, who had been residing in Gyeonggi Province, had been traveling back and forth between his family home and Goesan for the past three years to prepare for rural life.

The court did not accept Mr. A's testimony in court and determined that schizophrenia had influenced his actions. The court stated, "The defendant committed the crime while his decision-making capacity was significantly impaired due to schizophrenia, but there do not appear to be any special circumstances in the motive provided by the defendant that warrant particular consideration."

The court further explained its sentencing as follows: "During the trial, the defendant repeatedly applied for suspension of detention, citing the hardship of incarceration, which is an unfavorable factor as it suggests a lack of reflection on his wrongdoing. However, the court considered as favorable factors that the defendant committed the crime without recognizing his illness, that he became a reclusive loner after repeatedly failing to adapt to society due to conditions such as atopic dermatitis, and that his family members have petitioned for leniency."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.