Mother Who Abused and Killed Her 4-Month-Old Son Has Life Sentence Reduced to 35 Years

Court States, "Difficult to Consider as a Premeditated Crime"

The biological mother, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial for abusing and causing the death of her 4-month-old son, "Haedun" (pseudonym), had her sentence reduced on appeal.

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According to Yonhap News on the 25th, the Gwangju High Court's Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Hwang Jinhee) overturned the original life imprisonment sentence and instead sentenced Ms. A (in her 30s), who was indicted on charges including murder by child abuse under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to 35 years in prison.

The court stated the reason for the sentence reduction: "It cannot be considered that the crime was meticulously premeditated."

Ms. A was charged with indiscriminately assaulting her 4-month-old son at her home in Yeosu, Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, at around 11:43 a.m. on October 22 last year, and leaving him unattended in a baby bathtub with the water running, resulting in his death from multiple fractures and hemorrhaging.

Investigations revealed the abuse was repeated 19 times between August 24 of the same year and the date of the incident. The deceased child's body showed numerous bruises, internal organ hemorrhage, and 500 cc of blood loss in the abdominal cavity.

The husband, who was also brought to trial for neglecting to prevent the abuse, received the same sentence as in the first trial: 4 years and 6 months in prison. He was also accused of threatening to sue a witness in this case.

After part of the home camera footage showing the abuse was released in March this year on SBS's "Unanswered Questions," the case came to be known as the "Haedun Case," sparking nationwide outrage.

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