Supreme Court upholds sentences for father-son duo who killed woman with ...

The Supreme Court in southern Seoul in May 2025 [YONHAP]

A father and son who killed their wife and mother with Alzheimer's disease had their prison sentences upheld by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, ending a case that highlighted the strain of long-term family caregiving.

The court confirmed a relatively short three-year sentence for the father on a charge of murder and a seven-year sentence for the son on a charge of murder of a lineal ascendant.

The two were indicted for strangling the woman with an electrical cord at the family's apartment in Ilsan-seo District, Goyang, Gyeonggi, on March 4, 2025. In addition to Alzheimer's, the victim had a hip fracture that left her unable to move on her own.

Immediately after committing the crime, the father and son traveled to Jamsil Hangang Park in Songpa District, southern Seoul, and jumped into the Han River. A passerby alerted authorities, and rescue workers pulled both from the water.

Court records show that the two had cared for the woman at home for about 10 years, during which her cognitive function and health gradually declined. After other relatives stopped providing financial support, the pair could no longer bear the combined caregiving and financial burden.

Lower courts handed down lighter-than-statutory sentences after considering the family's circumstances.

“They devoted themselves to caring for a victim who has been unable to move for more than 10 years and endured great sacrifice,” the trial court said. “When the victim strongly refused to enter a nursing home, the extreme frustration [that the father and son felt] appears to have influenced the crime.”

On appeal, the father and son argued the murder should be treated as one committed “upon request,” a separate and lighter offense under the criminal code, claiming the woman had pleaded with them and given her consent. The appeals court rejected the defense.

“Given that the victim was in a serious state of dementia at the time, it is difficult to view the murder as one that she requested through a serious, deliberate decision,” the appeals court said in upholding the original sentences.

The Supreme Court found no errors in the lower court rulings.

“There is no error in the lower court's finding [...] that violates rules of logic and experience or misunderstands the legal principles governing murder and murder of a lineal ascendant,” it said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.