By Kim Se-jeong
The cause of death of a 13-year-old girl, whose mummified body was found in her bed on Wednesday almost one year after her death, is believed to be traumatic shock after an extended beating by her parents, police said Thursday.
Quoting the initial findings of an autopsy conducted by the National Forensic Service, officers at Sosa Police Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, said the girl sustained heavy bleeding through wounds inflicted to her thighs. But the coroners did not find any bone fractures or signs of bleeding in her abdomen.
Her father, surnamed Lee, 47, is a pastor and lecturer. He married his current wife, Baek, 40, in 2012 after his first wife died years earlier.
The couple admitted to beating the girl badly last March 17 for coming home late at night. They assaulted her for five hours using brooms and a clothes horse.
The police said the couple had admitted to physically assaulting the daughter but strongly denied any intentions to kill her, saying that it was the first time they beat her that hard.
Asked why they kept her body in their home under a blanket, they said they believed the girl could be resurrected through prayer. But police suspect they did so in fear of being caught and punished.
The suspects said they had sprayed air freshener to cover up the odor of decomposition.
The police requested the prosecution to seek arrest warrants for the two on charges of child abuse resulting in death, and abandonment of a corpse without notifying the authorities.
The girl's body was found by the police during an ongoing nationwide investigation into long-term missing children.
The cause of death of a 13-year-old girl, whose mummified body was found in her bed on Wednesday almost one year after her death, is believed to be traumatic shock after an extended beating by her parents, police said Thursday.
Quoting the initial findings of an autopsy conducted by the National Forensic Service, officers at Sosa Police Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, said the girl sustained heavy bleeding through wounds inflicted to her thighs. But the coroners did not find any bone fractures or signs of bleeding in her abdomen.
Her father, surnamed Lee, 47, is a pastor and lecturer. He married his current wife, Baek, 40, in 2012 after his first wife died years earlier.
The couple admitted to beating the girl badly last March 17 for coming home late at night. They assaulted her for five hours using brooms and a clothes horse.
The police said the couple had admitted to physically assaulting the daughter but strongly denied any intentions to kill her, saying that it was the first time they beat her that hard.
Asked why they kept her body in their home under a blanket, they said they believed the girl could be resurrected through prayer. But police suspect they did so in fear of being caught and punished.
The suspects said they had sprayed air freshener to cover up the odor of decomposition.
The police requested the prosecution to seek arrest warrants for the two on charges of child abuse resulting in death, and abandonment of a corpse without notifying the authorities.
The girl's body was found by the police during an ongoing nationwide investigation into long-term missing children.
