The Daegu District Prosecutors Office said it has indicted Jo Jae-bok, 26, in custody on allegations that he beat his mother-in-law to death and later dumped her body.
A dedicated prosecution team said April 28 that Jo was charged with killing an ascendant relative and related offenses after allegedly placing the body in a travel suitcase and abandoning it along the Sincheon stream in Daegu. Prosecutors said they declined to indict his wife, identified only as A, and released her.
According to prosecutors, Jo assaulted his mother-in-law, identified only as B, 54, for about 12 hours on March 18 at a one-room apartment in Daegu’s Jung District where they lived together, citing reasons such as that she did not keep things organized. After B died, prosecutors said Jo and A put her body in a suitcase and dumped it near the Sincheon.
A told investigators she took part because her husband forced her to, and authorities found that after B’s death Jo controlled A, including confining her so she could not report the case, prosecutors said.
At the time the case was sent to prosecutors, A was injured, including broken ribs, and prosecutors concluded she acted under coercion while unable to resist due to ongoing confinement and violence.
Under Article 12 of the Criminal Act, an act compelled by irresistible violence, or by threats that leave no way to protect one’s own life or body or that of relatives, is exempt from punishment.
A prosecution official said authorities will support A’s medical treatment as a victim of domestic violence and work with related organizations, including the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations and local governments, to help her return to daily life after recovery.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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