Woman referred to prosecutors over poisoning death of husband
The suspect allegedly mixed chemicals into her husband's meal, with the police linking the move to guilt over the death of the couple's daughter.
The Bundang Police Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi
YONHAP
Police have referred a woman to prosecutors while in custody on suspicion of murdering her husband after she allegedly poisoned him at a restaurant.
Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi announced that it recently referred the suspect on a murder charge on Wednesday.
The woman is accused of secretly mixing a chemical substance into food at a Chinese restaurant in Bundang District, Seongnam, to kill her husband on May 20.
Police said the woman arrived at the restaurant before her husband, ordered food and mixed the chemical into the meal.
After the meal, they returned to the small studio where they lived.
The following morning, a neighbor found the woman vomiting outside her room and called the fire authorities and police. She was taken to a hospital for treatment, while her husband was found dead inside the room.
Police also found a note expressing guilt over the death of the couple's daughter and despair about the woman's own life.
Investigators said the daughter had died of cancer several years earlier, and that the woman had begun showing signs of psychological instability and had frequently told her husband they should die together.
At the beginning of the investigation, police considered applying a charge of assisting suicide based on the woman's claim that her husband had agreed to die with her. She was also admitted to a psychiatric hospital in light of her condition.
However, investigators later reviewed surveillance camera footage from the restaurant and found evidence that the woman had secretly mixed the chemical into the food without consent from her husband.
The woman then admitted she had acted on her own, leading police to pursue a murder charge.
"The court also approved her detention because there was concern she might attempt suicide again and she did not have stable housing," a police official said. "We cannot disclose details such as the type of chemical used or how much each of them consumed because the investigation is ongoing."
If you or someone you know is feeling emotionally distressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, LifeLine Korea can be contacted at 1588-9191 or the Crisis Counseling Center at 1577-0199. The Seoul Global Center offers English-language counseling, contact 02-2075-4180 (+1) to arrange a session. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
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.
