DAEGU — A man who beat his mother-in-law to death and dumped her body in a suitcase was sentenced to 45 years in prison by a lower court.
The 13th criminal division of the Daegu District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Chae Hee-in, handed down the sentence on the 15th to Cho Jae-bok, who had been detained and indicted on charges including murder of a lineal ascendant.
"Killing a lineal ascendant violates the right to life, an absolute value stipulated in the Constitution, and can never be tolerated under any circumstances," the court said. "It is a crime against humanity that betrays the relationship of trust within the family community."
The court added that the defendant had brought the victim, his mother-in-law, into his home to live with him in order to exploit her financially rather than to support her. "After the victim died, he placed the body in a suitcase and dumped it, and he has shown no attitude of remorse, including exchanging messages with another woman," the court said.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence at the final hearing held on Sept. 17.
Cho was detained and indicted on charges of beating his mother-in-law, identified only as A and aged 54 at the time of her death, over an extended period at a studio-type officetel unit in Daegu's Jung District on March 18, then placing her body in a suitcase and dumping it along the Sincheon stream in Chilseong-dong, Buk District.