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Police hand over girl's death, baby swap case to prosecutors
Police officers escort a woman, center, who is accused of switching her baby with her adult daughter's baby, out of Gumi Police Station in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
Police wrapped up their investigation into the death of a three-year-old girl and alleged baby swap by her biological mother and transferred the case to the prosecution, while many allegations remain unsolved.
Gumi police said, Wednesday, they faced limitations in finding out the truth as the biological mother, the key suspect, continues to deny all allegations in the absence of concrete evidence.
The case has shocked the public as DNA tests confirmed that the baby's biological mother was her 48-year-old grandmother according to the family registry, identified only by her surname Seok, and not the 22-year-old woman ― Seok's daughter ― who raised the baby.
The girl was found dead in an empty home in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, Feb. 10, after the 22-year-old woman, believed to be the girl's mother, identified only by her surname Kim moved out leaving the three-year-old girl to fend for herself.
The National Forensic Service (NFS), which conducted an autopsy, failed to find the exact cause of the girl's death, but officers suspected she died of starvation after being left in the empty home that was part of a multi-story building.
Kim confessed to abandoning the girl after facing difficulties raising her alone following the end of her marriage.
But the case took a totally unexpected turn after four separate DNA tests confirmed that the dead girl's biological mother was not Kim, but her mother, Seok, who was living on the lower floor of the same building. Seok was the person who found the girl's dead body and called the police.
Police suspect Seok and Kim each gave birth to babies around the same time, while Seok switched the babies to hide the fact that she gave birth, as the DNA tests showed Seok's husband was not the girl's father.
The DNA of a man who Seok was having an extramarital affair with also didn't match that of the girl.
Despite results of the DNA tests, Seok claims that she did not give birth to a baby while refuting the results. According to the NFS, the DNA test results are more than 99 percent accurate.
But police have failed to determine the whereabouts of Kim's child. When Kim learned about the DNA test results, she told police that she had not been aware that the babies had been switched.
As Seok continues to deny the allegations, much of the truth in the case may remain uncovered.
Both faces charges under violation of the Child Welfare Act: Kim for child negligence and Seok for abduction of a minor.