Lee Eun-hae (31) and Jo Hyeon-soo (30), the suspects in the 'valley murder' case, were handed over to trial two years and 11 months after the incident.
The 2nd Criminal Division of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Chang-soo) arrested and indicted Lee and Cho on charges of murder, attempted murder, and attempted violation of the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud.
Mr. Lee is facing charges such as the murder of his husband Yoon Mo (age 39 at the time of his death) in Yongso Valley, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, around 8:24 pm on June 30, 2019, along with his ex-boyfriend, Mr. Cho.
Prosecutors determined that they killed Yoon, who could not swim, by making him jump from a 4m high rock into a 3m deep valley without any rescue equipment.
The prosecution applied the charge of 'murder by act', which corresponds to a situation in which a person killed himself, not 'murder by omission', which is applied when he did not intentionally kill someone even though he could rescue him.
A situation in which an act prohibited by the law is directly performed is called an 'act', and if an act that is not to be done is not performed, it is called an 'omission'.
Usually, when murder by negligence is found guilty, the sentence is much higher than murder by omission.
The prosecution also noted in the indictment that they did so-called 'gaslighting' against Yoon in the process of committing the crime.
Gaslighting is the act of reinforcing control by skillfully manipulating the mind or situation of the other person to make them lose judgment.
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They are also accused of trying to kill Yoon in February and May of 2019 by eating food mixed with puffer fish blood or drowning it in a fishing spot.
Jo's friend (30), who played in the valley with the victim before the death of Yoon, is also being investigated by the prosecution on charges of murder.
In particular, the prosecution concluded that they deliberately committed the crime with the aim of receiving 800 million won in life insurance money in Yoon's name.
Lee and Cho were arrested by the police at an officetel near Samsong Station in Goyang City on the 16th of last month, four months after they hid ahead of the second investigation by the prosecution on December 14 last year.
It was revealed that they planned to continue their life of escape until the chief prosecutor of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office in charge of their case moved.
In addition, it was found that the prosecution prepared for the prosecution investigation and future trial by writing and keeping a press conference accusing the investigative prosecutor.
Prosecutors recently arrested two men in their 30s who had provided a hiding place for them during their four-month fugitive life, and two other assistants are also being investigated.
Prosecutors arrested Lee and Cho and seized and searched the officetel, the hiding place, a week later, and obtained 5 cell phones, 1 laptop, and 1 removable storage device (USB) hidden in the ceiling of the bedroom.
Based on these data, we are analyzing the sources of escape funds.
An official from the prosecution said, "The bereaved family requested that the registration of family relations related to Lee's daughter, adopted as the victim's adopted child, be sorted out.
He added, "We paid some funeral expenses and living expenses to the victims' families, and we plan to continue providing necessary support such as psychological treatment in the future."
(Photo = Yonhap News)