A woman in her 40s who beat her mother to death during an argument over psychiatric medication was again sentenced to three years in prison on appeal. The prison term matched the lower court's ruling, but the appeals court recognized a causal link between the assault and the death, applying the heavier charge of assault on a lineal ascendant resulting in death.
Beat Mother During Dispute Over Medication, Then Left Her Unconscious
According to legal circles on the 23rd, the Incheon branch of the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Lee Jung-min) sentenced A, 41, to three years in prison in her appeal trial on charges of assault on a lineal ascendant resulting in death.
A was indicted on charges of repeatedly assaulting her mother, B, who was 70 at the time, at their home in Ojeong-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, between 7:25 p.m. on Feb. 21 and the following morning.
The investigation found that A committed the crime during an argument with her mother over her refusal to take prescribed psychiatric medication.
A punched her mother in the face, chest and abdomen. She also climbed on top of her mother after she collapsed on the floor and struck her upper body. B suffered injuries including cracked ribs.
After the assault, B collapsed on the floor, foaming at the mouth, and lost consciousness. A left the house without taking any measures to help her. B was found dead at the home between 7:28 a.m. and 9:03 a.m. on Feb. 22.
A had been receiving psychiatric treatment since 2020. The investigation found that she had been reluctant to take her prescribed medication since around June 2023, citing side effects such as vomiting and drowsiness.
Lower Court Found Only Injury; Appeals Court Held Her Responsible for Death
The central issue in the trial was whether A's assault led to her mother's death.
The lower court ruled that it had not been sufficiently proven that the assault was the direct cause of death or that A could have foreseen the possibility of death. It acquitted her of assault on a lineal ascendant resulting in death, convicting her only of assault on a lineal ascendant resulting in injury, and sentenced her to three years in prison.
The appeals court reached a different conclusion. It noted that A had repeatedly struck her elderly mother, who was smaller in build and in poor health, and that the victim lost consciousness immediately afterward and died without any further external impact.
The court ruled that a causal link between the assault and the death could be recognized even if the mother died from the worsening of a pre-existing heart condition.
It also found that A could have foreseen the possibility of death, based on the fact that she took no action even after seeing that her mother was not moving.
The court did, however, accept the argument that A had been receiving treatment for bipolar affective disorder and that, at the time of the crime, her mental illness had diminished her capacity to distinguish right from wrong or to make decisions.
"This is an inhumane crime in which she assaulted her own mother and caused her death, and the nature of the offense is extremely grave," the court said, while factoring into the sentence that she had largely admitted to the crime, that she had been in a state of diminished mental capacity and that she had no prior criminal record.
As a result, the appeals court changed the lower court's finding of guilt to recognize assault on a lineal ascendant resulting in death, while maintaining the prison term at three years.