Man accused of killing mother-in-law, abandoning body in suitcase says he 'didn't think she would die' from beating

Cho Jae-bok, the man accused of killing his mother-in-law and abandoning the body in a suitcase, admitted during his first trial that he beat her but didn’t think that she would die.

The Daegu District Court held the first hearing for Cho, who was indicted and detained on charges of killing a relative and disposing of the body, on Thursday. Wearing a reddish-brown prison uniform, Cho confirmed that he did not want to have a jury trial.

During the hearing, his attorney acknowledged his conditional intent regarding the murder charge and his disposing of the body. However, Cho claimed that he did not intend to kill the victim.

“While it’s true that I hit her, I really didn’t think that she would die [from the beating],” Cho said. “When my wife told me that my mother-in-law was not breathing, I performed CPR on her.”

He also submitted three letters of remorse to the court, writing that he had never intended to kill his mother-in-law.

Cho’s attorney further denied allegations that Cho had abused his wife and mother-in-law, such as by installing cameras inside the home to prevent them from escaping and financially exploiting them.

“The home cameras were installed to take care of their three dogs, and he managed the household finances as the head of the family,” said Cho’s attorney. “He never confined or financially exploited his wife and mother-in-law.”

The court said that it would question Cho’s wife as a witness during the next hearing to determine his sentence.

The case began after police received a report about a suspicious suitcase near the Sincheon stream in Daegu on March 31. 

A police investigation was launched after a woman’s body was discovered inside the suitcase. Cho and his wife were arrested later that evening at their residence in Jung District, Daegu.

Following an investigation, the police found that Cho assaulted his mother-in-law over a prolonged period on March 18, reportedly because she was noisy while washing dishes and didn’t properly organize the household items.

After the victim died, Cho and his wife allegedly placed the body in the suitcase and abandoned it near the stream, about a 20-minute walk from their home.

Cho’s wife told investigators that she only took part in disposing of the body because her husband had compelled her. Police also said that Cho confined his wife after the death to prevent her from reporting the crime.

A preliminary autopsy conducted by the National Forensic Service found the presumed cause of death to be multiple traumatic injuries caused by external forces.

The Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Cho on April 28, but it decided not to prosecute his wife on charges related to abandonment of a body and released her from custody. Prosecutors said that she had also suffered injuries inflicted by Cho, including fractured ribs, even at the time when the case was transferred to prosecutors.

Prosecutors explained that the wife committed the crime under coercion and was unable to resist due to being confined by and repeatedly experiencing violence from Cho. As a result, her actions fell under Article 12 of the Criminal Act, which exempts individuals from punishment if they commit an act under “violence that they cannot resist” or threats that leave them with no way to protect themselves or close relatives from harm.

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.

BY BAEK KYEONG-SEO [[email protected]]