A woman in her 50s who had struggled with mental health problems since losing her daughter years earlier was sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing her husband by secretly putting a chemical substance in his food.
The Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court's Criminal Division 2, presided over by Judge Kim Se-hyun, handed down the sentence on the 15th to the defendant, identified only as A, who had been indicted on a murder charge.
Prosecutors said A secretly added a chemical substance she had prepared in advance to food eaten by her husband, identified as B, at a Chinese restaurant in Seongnam's Bundang district, Gyeonggi Province, on May 20, causing his death.
An investigation found that A arrived first at the Chinese restaurant near the budget lodging house where the couple had been staying and ordered the food. She then put the chemical substance in the dish before her husband arrived, according to the findings. After finishing the meal, the couple returned to the lodging house together.
The following morning, A came out of the room showing symptoms of vomiting and was found by a neighbor. Police and firefighters who responded to a report found B dead inside the room. A was taken to a hospital for treatment.
A had suffered severe psychological anxiety and depression after her daughter died years earlier following a battle with cancer, according to accounts of the case.
The court found A guilty on all counts of murder. It concluded the killing was premeditated, citing her purchase of the chemical substance in advance and her luring of her husband to the Chinese restaurant. On that basis, the court said a severe punishment was unavoidable.
The court did, however, factor into the sentence that A had long suffered mental health problems including depression and delusions, and that her condition appeared to have influenced the crime.