Woman indicted for murder 10 years after death and disposal of 2-day-old daughter

A woman has been indicted while in custody a decade after she allegedly left her two-day-old daughter in a car in the middle of winter until she died and then disposed of the body in the sea.

The Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday that it had indicted the woman on a murder charge.

The woman is accused of leaving her daughter inside a passenger car on a coastal road in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang, on the afternoon of Jan. 15, 2016, according to prosecutors. 

The average temperature at the time was 5.73 degrees Celsius (42.3 degrees Fahrenheit). The newborn had been born just two days earlier and weighed only 2.16 kilograms (4.8 pounds). The baby was small for her gestational age and was particularly vulnerable to cold temperatures.

Investigators found that the woman turned off the car’s engine, left the windows open and exposed the newborn to the winter conditions for about 90 minutes between 5:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.

“I was having an affair at the time, and the baby might have been the other man’s child, so I committed the crime to hide her from my husband,” the woman told prosecutors.

Investigators found that the woman’s then-husband, whom she divorced in 2017, had been unaware that she was pregnant or had given birth. The newborn was the woman’s sixth child. At the time, she and her husband were raising four children, while their fifth child had been placed for adoption because of financial difficulties.

The case, which might otherwise have remained undiscovered, came to light during a nationwide investigation by regional governments into so-called ghost babies, children who were born but whose births had not been officially registered.

Goseong County asked police to investigate in December 2024 after authorities were unable to confirm whether the child was alive.

Police took the woman into custody and sought an arrest warrant, but a court rejected the request, citing her acknowledgment of the basic facts of the case and the lack of a risk that she would flee or destroy evidence.

Police referred the case to prosecutors without detaining her in June last year.

Prosecutors then conducted a supplementary investigation after the woman denied that she had intended to kill the newborn.

A forensic medical examination determined that the woman’s actions were likely a direct cause of the baby’s death. An integrated psychological analysis conducted by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office also led investigators to conclude that the woman committed the crime to escape the consequences of an unexpected pregnancy.

Prosecutors also analyzed financial records and digital forensic evidence and determined that the woman had made no preparations to care for the newborn, such as purchasing supplies for the baby. They also found that after the baby’s death, the suspect continued with her daily routine, including paying utility bills and visiting restaurants, and had thoroughly concealed her pregnancy and childbirth from those around her.

Based on the findings, prosecutors determined that the woman had acted with conditional intent to kill — that is, she recognized that her actions could result in the newborn’s death but proceeded regardless.

Prosecutors again argued that detention was necessary, citing the seriousness of the alleged crime and the risk that the woman could flee. She was taken into custody on Aug. 11.

“We will continue to do our utmost to protect victims from violent crimes that threaten public safety and ensure that defendants are held accountable for their crimes,” the prosecution official said.

BY AN DAE-HUN [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]