“The death torture 10 years old, the death seen from the previous beating”… The autopsy doctor was also surprised.

The entrance to my aunt’s apartment in Yongin, where the police line was struck after the abuse death incident. yunhap news

A police investigation revealed that a 10-year-old girl who died after being entrusted to her aunt’s house was abused by her aunt couple, including water torture and assault. The police believe that “the assault before the victim’s shock may have affected the death” based on the primary opinion given by the autopsy doctor.

Yongin East Police Station. yunhap news

According to the Yongin East Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on the 9th, aunt B and her husband in their 30s, who had been in charge of A, 10, who died the previous day (8th) for the last three months, said in a police investigation, I wasn’t able to hit him for about two days.” He also said, “On the day of his death, as a discipline, he took water and put the child in and out of the water several times.” A police official said, “One person grabs the body and the other one grabs the child’s head and puts it in the water.” When Ms. A lost consciousness and became droopy, she stopped acting and reported to the fire department at around 12:35 on the day. “The child falls into the bathtub and cannot breathe,” he said. Ms. A was moved to a nearby hospital, but died.

Both A’s bodies are said to have bruises all over the body, such as the face and thighs. Accordingly, paramedics and hospital medical staff suspected of child abuse reported it to the police. Mrs. B, who were urgently arrested for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (child abuse mortality) to the police, said, “We have hit the child lightly several times.” Later, in the process of explaining the cause of death, he confessed the fact of abuse using water.

Child abuse illustration. [중앙포토]

The autopsy doctor, who autopsied Ms. A’s body, made the first oral remark that “it appears to have died from secondary shock.” The subcutaneous hemorrhage caused by the assault caused shock, police said. A police official said, “It is a shock that can come suddenly due to trauma or bleeding. It seems that there were many bruises on the child’s entire body, and it seems that the previous assault and water torture caused the shock.

Mrs. B said the police said they had beaten A with a plastic flapper and a plastic broom at home. Another police official said, “If a child has subcutaneous bleeding due to violence or other reasons, it is possible to suffer from shock.” “Drowning in the bathtub was considered a cause of death, but it was confirmed that it was not in the first autopsy findings. I was hit a lot and then I was shocked.” The exact cause of death of Miss A is expected to be identified in about two weeks after the specific autopsy results are released.

The police are looking into when Ms. B’s abuse against Ms. A began. Ms. A, who lived in Yongin City, has been living at the house of Mr. B, who lives in the same city since the end of October and early November of last year. Ms. A’s mother entrusted her daughter to Mr. B’s couple for family problems such as moving. It was found that Ms. A attended school normally.

The police said that Ms. A’s mother was in shock. He told the police, “I sent my daughter to my sister’s house for personal reasons. I have been in contact with my daughter occasionally through video calls, etc., and I have come to see it in person.” Until this incident, it was investigated that no reports of suspected abuse related to Ms. A were received.

Mr. B had three children: a 12-year-old daughter, a 5-year-old son, and a 2-year-old son. The first daughter and second son, who were staying at other relatives’ houses, are now entrusted to a specialized child protection agency. The youngest son is being cared for by another family. Mr. B said that the couple has no history of psychiatric treatment. An official from the police said, “We will also investigate whether or not the child has been abused.”

On this afternoon, the police applied for an arrest warrant against Mr. B’s couple on the charges of child abuse and lethality. Along with this, it plans to establish a dedicated investigation team such as a women and youth team and a strong team to continue the investigation. A police official said, “We are denying the intentionality of the murder, including stating that Mr. B has also performed CPR on Ms. A.” “I will consider turning the charges against the couple into murder.”

Reporter Chae Hye-seon [email protected]