A South Korean Army sergeant in his 30s has been indicted on murder charges after allegedly neglecting his wife's medical condition for months until her body was covered with bedsores and maggots, leading to her death.
Military prosecutors indicted Sergeant A, stationed at an Army armored unit in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on murder charges on Wednesday, the Army said Thursday. Prosecutors filed murder as the primary charge and criminal abandonment resulting in death as an alternative charge in case the murder charge is not upheld.
Military prosecutors determined that Sergeant A could be found guilty of murder by omission—failing to take action that should have been taken. The trial will be held at the 2nd Regional Military Court.
Sergeant A is accused of failing to provide proper treatment or protective measures for his wife, identified as B and also in her 30s, after she developed bedsores starting in August and her condition deteriorated. He did not call emergency services until November 17, reporting that "my wife's consciousness is cloudy."
Emergency responders who arrived at the residence found B with her entire body contaminated with filth. Skin necrosis from infection and bedsores had progressed severely, particularly in her lower extremities, and maggots were discovered on her body, according to reports.
B went into cardiac arrest while being transported to a hospital in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang, and died the following day from sepsis. Hospital staff reported her husband to police, citing suspected neglect.
The investigation found that B had been experiencing mental health difficulties since August, gradually losing mobility, which caused bedsores to spread across her body.
Military prosecutors plan to focus their case on whether Sergeant A recognized his spouse's critical condition over an extended period yet neglected his duty to rescue and treat her.
Details of the case were recently disclosed through a television broadcast. According to SBS investigative program "Unanswered Questions," which aired on January 13, Sergeant A told police investigators that "I didn't know my wife's condition was this serious." B's older sister expressed outrage, saying, "What on earth was her husband doing while my sister deteriorated to this state?"
Kang Nam-gyu, an emergency medicine specialist who appeared on the program, said, "She might have survived if she had received treatment 10 days earlier. She appears to have died in the early stages of sepsis. Because she was a healthy young person, there was hope for recovery."
Kang also noted, "The decay on the buttocks is from bedsores. But the inflammation and necrosis on the shoulders, abdomen, and legs are from different causes. The necrosis on the right shoulder is a recent wound—a stab wound." He added, "The chest CT shows ribs 1 through 6 are broken. Ribs 1 and 2 don't break even during CPR. The fact that these are broken suggests external force was applied. Assault is also suspected."
Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Sergeant A visited a veterinary clinic twice over two days to treat his pet dogs for enteritis—approximately 20 days before his wife died.
