▲ A suspect accused of murdering a woman and setting her body and home on fire over a water leakage dispute answers reporters' questions before being referred to prosecutors, in this file photo taken June 27, 2023. (Yonhap)

neighbor murder suspect-court

Man gets life imprisonment for murdering, burning neighbor's body over water leakage dispute

SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a man to life in prison for murdering a neighbor living downstairs, then setting her body and apartment on fire over a water leakage dispute.

The 40-year-old man, only identified by his surname Jung, is accused of stabbing to death a woman in her 70s, who lived downstairs from him, then setting her body and home aflame in Seoul's Sinjeong-dong on June 14. The suspect also reportedly stole the victim's money to use as his escape fund.

The man reportedly committed the crime after holding a grudge against the victim, whose children asked him to resolve a water ingress problem between the floors in December last year.

The Seoul Southern District Court handed down the life sentence for Jung, saying, "In light of all the evidence combined, the court finds the suspect guilty and at risk of committing a second offense.

"The suspect blamed his own economic hardships and problems within his family as the reasons for committing the crime," the court said, adding he went as far as blaming the victim during the early phase of the investigations.

The court, however, said it also took into account that the suspect conceded to all the charges, has no criminal record and did not seem to have premeditated the crime.

Following the court ruling, the bereaved family members of the victim denounced the decision, calling for the death penalty for the man and urging the prosecution to appeal to a higher court.

The prosecution demanded the death penalty for Jung last month.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]