Disabled couple found dead amid incest court case
Published: 2014-03-26 21:00
Updated: 2014-03-26 21:00
A man accused of sexually assaulting his daughter was recently found dead with his wife in what appears to be a double suicide, police said Wednesday.
The bodies of the man, 46, and woman, 37, were found Saturday at their home in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. They appeared to have died from smoke inhalation.
In a note, the man denied the charges that he had molested his 15-year-old daughter over a year. The supposed victim testified against her father in court last week.
“No matter what nonsense the kids say, I’m innocent. To prove my innocence, my wife and I take the last available option.” the note said.
The couple’s bodies were autopsied for signs of violence and cremated. The deceased man and woman were physically and mentally handicapped, respectively, and lived on government benefits of about 1 million won ($931) per month.
On Sept. 23, a local child protection center took the alleged victim and her 12-year-old sister into protection after the older daughter told them she had been molested by her father eight times from 2012. The prosecutor charged the father in December with violating the act on juvenile protection against sexual abuse and indicted him without detention.
“His daughter was clear on how she was molested, and her sister also said she witnessed the scene (of abuse),” said an official from the prosecution. “It seems that (the accused) had resorted to drastic action because it was highly likely that he would be convicted.”
The court, however, ordered the prosecutors to specify the charges because they did not provide the exact dates of the alleged crimes.
In both hearings held from January to February, the accused had denied all charges. He and his wife had been unable to visit their daughters since then.
By Yoon Min-sik ([email protected])
