Husband arrested at wife's funeral indicted for her murder

Bride A, left, who was killed three months after her wedding, and her husband Seo, the suspect in her murder. Captured from JTBC YouTube channel

A man suspected of killing his wife just three months after their wedding and who acted as the chief mourner at her funeral has been arrested and indicted on murder charges.

Seoul’s Gangseo Police Station said Wednesday that the suspect, surnamed Seo, was referred to prosecutors on March 20 after being detained on suspicion of strangling his wife, identified as A, while intoxicated at their home on March 13.

According to police and multiple media reports, Seo called his mother-in-law on the morning of the incident, claiming he had returned home from work to find his wife unresponsive. In a trembling voice, he said, “I don’t know why she’s like this,” and insisted there had been “nothing unusual.”

However, Seo’s story unraveled when police named him a murder suspect and arrested him at the funeral home. “It was just a day after the funeral began that Seo was taken away by detectives,” a family member said. “He even said, ‘Mother, I’ll be back,’ with what looked like a smile on his face.” Until that point, Seo had been acting as the chief mourner at the wake.

Seo initially denied the charges but admitted to the killing after police presented evidence of strangulation marks on the victim’s neck. He claimed it was an impulsive act committed under the influence of alcohol.

Investigators also said that Seo had deleted a home surveillance camera app after the incident and removed the SIM card from his wife’s phone in an apparent attempt to cover his tracks.

“I sent my daughter off in good health. I hope he receives a heavy sentence and pays for what he did," the victim’s mother told JTBC. She also asked the broadcaster to reveal her daughter’s face to let the world know about her wrongful death.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.